Watch: Israeli ambassador shreds UN Charter as Palestine membership backed
Israeli ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Gilad Erdan brought a small shredder and shredded the United Nations' charter during a speech before the UN assembly. The stunt came just before the General Assembly backed a resolution urging the Security Council to make Palestine a full UN member. The resolution was passed with 143 votes in favor, nine against, including the United States and Israel, and 25 abstentions.
Palestinian UN Ambassador advocates for statehood
In an emotional speech, Palestine's ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, described the decision as "historic" and "significant." However, Israel objected vehemently, with Erdan feeding the UN Charter into the shredder. "You are shredding the UN Charter with your own hands," he told members at the podium. "Yes..that's what you're doing. Shredding the UN Charter. Shame on you. As long as so many of you are 'Jew-hating,' you don't really care that the Palestinians are not 'peace-loving'," he said.
Full UN membership process
Erdan also warned that if the measure was approved on Monday, it could lead to a cut in US funding to United Nations and its institutions. Achieving full UN membership requires approval from the 15-member Security Council, followed by the General Assembly. The resolution grants Palestinians additional rights from September 2024, like a seat among the UN members in the assembly hall, but they will not be granted a vote in the body.
Palestinian UN mission's stance on two-state solution
The Palestinian UN mission in New York said that the resolution's adoption would be a significant step toward preserving the long-sought-for two-state solution. They stated it would "constitute a clear reaffirmation of support at this very critical moment for the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State." The Palestinians currently hold non-member observer state status, granted by the UN General Assembly in 2012.
