Israel intends to summon ambassadors from the countries that voted in favor of full Palestinian UN membership in the Security Council on Thursday to present a formal protest to them, an Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson said Saturday, according to the “The Times of Israel.”
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein tweeted that the summon covers envoys from France, Japan, South Korea, Malta, Slovenia, and Ecuador, and that “strong protests will be presented to additional countries.”
Twelve nations supported a resolution supporting full Palestinian membership at the international body on Thursday, but two — Britain and Switzerland — abstained, with the United States using its veto to block the move.
“Israel will not agree to the establishment of a terror state that will endanger its citizens,” the spokesman asserted.
“It will also be clarified to the ambassadors that instead of making political gestures that reward the Hamas terrorist organization, the countries should apply pressure on Hamas to immediately release the 133 women and men being held hostage,” he added.
The draft resolution passed on Thursday recommended to the General Assembly “that the State of Palestine be admitted to membership of the United Nations” instead of its existing “non-member observer state” status, which it has maintained since 2012.
The US had attempted to persuade the Palestinian Authority to table the measure before turning to other members to reject or abstain after Ramallah refused, an unnamed US official told the Times of Israel.
France, Japan, South Korea, and Slovenia all voted in support of Algeria’s proposal, although none of them has recognized a Palestinian state.
The US official suggested that those nations had voted the way they did while not actually supporting the motion because they knew there would be no ramifications for doing so, given Washington’s anticipated veto.
Sierra Leone, Russia, Mozambique, Malta, Guyana, Ecuador, China, and Algeria all supported the resolution. Each of these member-states has already acknowledged a Palestinian state.
Following the US veto, the Palestinian Authority announced that it will “reconsider” its ties with Washington.
The United States has traditionally opposed Palestinian efforts to gain statehood recognition at the UN, claiming that the goal should be reached through direct discussions with Israel.