THE Palestinian foreign minister said on Thursday that eight Security Council members are guaranteed to vote in favour of the Palestinian bid for full membership of the United Nations, and that one more vote is needed to guarantee a majority.
‘The Palestinian Authority is now working to secure the ninth vote,’ Riyad al-Malki said, indicating that it will seek either Colombia or Bosnia-Herzegovina’s vote.
The eight countries set to vote in favour of the UN bid are Russia, China, India, South Africa, Brazil, Lebanon, Nigeria and Gabon.
Voting against will be the UK, while the US is ready to use its veto if the resolution succeeds.
The Council decided to refer the Palestinian request to its members committee during a meeting on Wednesday.
The US is insisting that a Palestinian state can only come into existence with the direct agreement of Israel, and has thus placed Israel in a position where it has more power than the UN general Assembly or the UN Security Council.
President Obama is using every weapon in the US arsenal, from financial aid or the denial of it, to military threats to try and ensure that the Palestinians do not get a majority on the UN Security Council.
During President Obama’s recent speech to the United Nations General Assembly, delegates were shocked just how far out on a limb Obama put himself, with his pledges that amounted to a 1000% unconditional support for Israel.
A few days later it was learnt that Obama had sent assurances to Israel that despite the axe being used to slash government expenditures in the US, its aid both financial and military was untouched.
At a time when world capitalism is being rocked by crises both in the EU and the US, and revolutions are erupting throughout the Arab world, the US is determined to protect and bolster its strategic Israeli ally in the Middle East, no doubt with the coming conflict with Iran and Syria, and with the continuing Egyptian revolution in mind.
American workers are beginning to grasp that while they are being made homeless and jobless, and their Medicaid and Medicare programmes are being slashed, not a hair is to be touched on the head of Israel.
The Palestinian people are, however, now surging forward, heartened in particular by the continuing revolution in Egypt and by the breach that has been forced in the previously very close alliance between Turkey and Israel.
Both Russia and Turkey have added their voices to the international condemnation against the provocative recent approval by Israeli Premier Netanyahu of 1,100 housing units for settlers in occupied East Jerusalem.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry also issued a statement, saying: ‘Israel’s decision raises serious suspicions about its sincerity and true intentions. This is a flagrant violation of international law and is not acceptable.’
It added: ‘Israel’s continued construction of illegal settlements on Palestinian lands shows once more that the Palestinian demand to be recognised as a state at the United Nations is justified and timely.’
As well, the Palestinian authorities in Ramallah have let it be known that Tony Blair, the Middle East ‘peace envoy’ of the Quartet states, is no longer acceptable to them because he is so completely biased in favour of Israel.
The butcher of Baghdad, the imperialist politician who pulled the wool over the eyes of the Libyan leadership, is about to be dumped!
A majority of votes to recognise the state of Palestine, even if vetoed by the US, will further open up the revolutionary floodgates.
It will see the Palestinians demand the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army.
It will see new armadas sail under the protection of the Turkish navy to the relief of Gaza, and it must see the UK trade unions and the trade unions of the world impose a 100% blockade on Israel until the occupation army withdraws, East Jerusalem becomes the Palestinian capital and all refugees have the right to return!
