US Vows to Stop All Aid If Palestinians Seek Statehood
According to a statement detailing the content of the meeting, US Consul General for Jerusalem Daniel Rubinstein informed the Palestinian Authority today that any effort to upgrade themselves to full statehood at the United Nations will result in a loss of all US aid.
Rubinstein, who was meeting with Palestinian official Saeb Erekat, told him that the UN bid was “useless” and that the US would use its veto if they approach the Security Council for recognition. An effort to find recognition in the General Assembly, though likely to pass would mean “punitive measures” from the US.
The Palestinians have promised to approach the Security Council in September and have raised the possibility of trying to move on to the General Assembly if (now apparently when) the US vetoes their bid for statehood. US officials maintain that no Palestinian state can exist until Israel formally approves of it, something which is extremely unlikely under Israel’s current right-far-right coalition.
If Rubinstein’s threat is authentic, and there seems to be some dispute of that, it gives the Palestinian Authority a stark choice: either they push through with their bid for independence at the cost of massive amounts of US money, or they accept their continued status as an occupied nation, dependent on the international community for occasional funding.
Jason Ditz
Anti War