Israel to summon envoys of nations that voted in favour of Palestine’s full UN membership

Israel is set to summon ambassadors from several countries that voted in favour of granting full UN membership to Palestine. Oren Marmorstein, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, said in a statement, "As instructed by Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz, tomorrow (Sunday), the Foreign Ministry will summon for a protest talk the ambassadors of the countries that voted in the Security Council in favour of upgrading the status of the Palestinians in the UN."

The countries whose ambassadors will be summoned include France, Malta, Japan, South Korea, Slovenia, and Ecuador. The protest is in response to their support for the Algerian proposal, which soughtto upgrade the status of Palestine in the UN but was ultimately rejected.

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Marmorstein highlighted Israel's stance against recognising Palestine as a full UN member state stating, "A political gesture to the Palestinians and a call to recognise a Palestinian state – six months after the October 7 massacre – is a prize for terrorism."

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The move comes after the Security Council on Thursday (Apr 18) rejected Palestine’s request for UN membership as Israel's ally, the United States vetoed the proposal. Ambassador Robert A. Wood of the United States voted against the draft resolution in the UNSC.

The draft resolution, one of the shortest in the Council’s history, recommended the admission of Palestine to the United Nations as a full member.

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Amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Palestine submitted its request for reconsideration of its 2011 application. The Security Council had previously considered the request but failed to reach a consensus.

The Security Council's Committee on the Admission of Member States discussed the matter earlier this month on 8 and 11 April.However, when the draft resolution was taken up US ultimately vetoed it. Palestine has been a Permanent Observer at the UN since 2012.

Reaction from Palestinian authorities

Reacting to the US veto, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas termed the move as “unfair, unethical and unjustified” and said that it was a “blatant aggression … which pushes the region ever further to the edge of the abyss”.

“The fact that this resolution did not pass will not break our will, and it will not defeat our determination,” Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said following the vote.

(With inputs from agencies)