A White House spokesman on Friday defended the United States’ decision to oppose a U.N. resolution declaring support for a Palestinian state, saying such a move should be negotiated in the Middle East.
The United States was one of the few holdouts when the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution declaring that Palestinians qualify for full membership in the United Nations. The vote was widely seen as a rebuke to Israel and the United States as global outrage over the war between Israel and Hamas grows.
White House national security spokesman John F. Kirby said President Biden remained “fully and firmly committed” to a Palestinian state, but that the U.N. resolution was not the way to establish it.
“We continue to believe in the power and promise of a two-state solution and an independent state for the Palestinian people,” Kirby told reporters. “We also believe that the best way to do this is through direct negotiations with the parties and not through such a vote at the UN.”
Friday’s vote comes as ties between the United States and Israel, its closest ally in the Middle East, are tested by the war in Gaza. More than 34,000 people have died in Gaza, including fighters and civilians, and the head of the World Food Program has said parts of the Gaza Strip are experiencing “full-blown famine.”
The United States is the largest arms supplier to Israel, and Biden hopes to use that influence to get Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to renounce an invasion of Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than a million Palestinians live. They have taken refuge.
Biden halted a shipment of bombs to Israel and said he would also withhold artillery if Israel advanced on Rafah. But Israelis maintain they need to go to Rafah to finish destroying Hamas, which killed 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack it led against Israel.
The UN resolution does not establish a Palestinian state, but it does recognize that Palestine qualifies for full membership in the United Nations. Its membership must be approved by the UN Security Council, which includes the United States.
The United States has repeatedly exercised its veto power in the council to block U.N. resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The U.N. General Assembly adopted Friday’s resolution after the United States in April vetoed a resolution before the Security Council that would have recognized full membership of a Palestinian state, which is considered a “non-member observer state.”
The resolution passed Friday would extend Palestinians new privileges, such as sitting among member states in alphabetical order, speaking at meetings on any topic rather than limiting themselves to Palestinian issues, and presenting proposals and amendments.
The resolution was prepared by the United Arab Emirates, current chair of the UN Arab Group, and sponsored by 70 countries. It declares that “the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations” according to the rules of its charter and recommends that the Security Council reconsider the matter with a favorable outcome.”
The adoption of the resolution provoked great applause.
Farnaz Fassihi contributed with reports.