Palestinian UN Ambassador Withdraws VP Bid After US Pressure
Hızlı Bakış
- The Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, is withdrawing his bid for a vice president role at the UN General Assembly after US pressure.
- A US cable instructed the embassy in Jerusalem to pressure Palestinian officials to drop the bid or face visa revocation for their delegation.
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The US has historically opposed Palestinian attempts to gain full UN membership and international recognition, viewing them as unilateral moves that could undermine peace efforts with Israel. This incident occurs within the broader context of US-Palestinian relations and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
TEL AVIV — Following pressure from the U.S., the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations is withdrawing his bid for a vice president role at the U.N. General Assembly, and Lebanon's ambassador is taking his place, the U.N. said Thursday.
The Palestinian U.N. delegation relayed, through an Arab country, that Ambassador Riyad Mansour would refrain from running for a vice president position for the coming two years, a person familiar with the matter told NPR on Thursday — a potential reference to the end of President Trump's term.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the two-year delay decision had not been announced publicly.
The spokesperson of the President of the U.N. General Assembly, La Neice Collins, confirmed the Palestinian delegation's withdrawal. The U.S. State Department did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The State Department on Tuesday issued a cable, obtained by NPR, instructing the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem to pressure Palestinian officials to drop the leadership bid or face the potential revocation of their U.N. delegation's U.S. visas.
The U.S. cable, marked sensitive but unclassified and first published by the Guardian, says Mansour "has a history of accusing Israel of genocide," and that his bid "fuels tension" and undermines President Trump's peace plan for Gaza.
"A bully pulpit for Mansour would not improve the lives of Palestinians and would significantly damage U.S. relations with the PA [Palestinian Authority]. Congress will take it extremely seriously," the cable says.
For decades, the U.S. under both Democratic and Republican administrations has opposed Palestinian attempts to gain full membership at the U.N. and international bodies, arguing they were unilateral moves that undermined peace efforts with Israel.
Açık Sorular
- What specific actions will the US take if future Palestinian bids are made?
- What is the official stance of the Palestinian Authority on this withdrawal?
- Will Lebanon's ambassador face similar pressure?
- What are the long-term implications for Palestinian representation at the UN?
