U.N. Backs Palestinian Bid for Membership

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at future Palestinian membership to the United Nations, political appointments in Russia and Poland, and an Indian opposition leader temporarily freed to campaign.

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A Vote for Full U.N. Membership

The United Nations General Assembly voted 143 to 9, with 25 abstentions, on Friday in favor of granting new “rights and privileges” to Palestine. It also called on the U.N. Security Council to “favorably” reconsider making Palestine the 194th member of the international body.

Granting Palestine full U.N. membership would send a “message in support of the two-state solution,” Emirati Ambassador to the U.N. Mohamed Abushahab said after introducing the resolution. In response, Israel symbolically shredded a copy of the U.N. Charter.

The General Assembly recognized Palestine as a nonmember observer in 2012. Only nine nations, including Israel and the United States, voted against the measure at the time. Since then, the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule over the West Bank, has overseen the U.N. mission, and Palestine has joined several U.N. bodies, including the International Criminal Court in 2015.

Friday’s resolution gives Palestine the right to speak on all issues, not just those related to the Middle East; the ability to propose agenda items and participate in debate; the right to sit on U.N. committees; and the opportunity to attend U.N. conferences. It does not, however, grant Palestine the right to vote in the General Assembly. The final text excluded wording that would have put Palestine “on equal footing with member states” and said Palestine’s acceptance was “on an exceptional basis and without setting a precedent,” appeasing Chinese and Russian concerns that admitting Palestine would pave the way for Taiwan and Kosovo to also join the U.N., which China and Russia do not recognize as sovereign nations.

The U.N. Security Council must recommend a state’s formal admission to the General Assembly for final approval. But Robert Wood, a U.S. deputy ambassador to the U.N., indicated on Thursday that the White House opposes the resolution and will veto any such measures. “We have said from the beginning the best way to ensure Palestinian full membership in the U.N. is to do that through negotiations with Israel,” Wood said. In April, Washington vetoed a popular resolution that would have paved the way for full Palestinian membership; it was the only Security Council member to vote against the resolution.

U.S. legislation also dictates that Washington is required to halt all funding for any U.N. agency that gives full membership to Palestine, which the United States was forced to do with UNESCO in 2011. Friday’s resolution contained diluted language so as not to trigger a cutoff of U.S. support.

Israel stated that the resolution’s passage “will not change anything on the ground” in Gaza. On Friday, Israeli forces captured the main road dividing eastern and western Rafah, effectively encircling the eastern part of the city. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees estimates that nearly 110,000 people have fled Rafah since Monday, many of them escaping to Khan Younis, only to face another city that has been devastated by war and is still coming under Israeli bombardment. On Thursday and overnight Friday, the Israeli military carried out deadly airstrikes in Khan Younis as well as in the northern areas of Gaza City and the Jabalya camp.

The United Nations warned on Friday that aid into the Gaza Strip could halt in mere days. As part of the Rafah offensive, Israel closed two border crossings into southern Gaza. It has since said it reopened Kerem Shalom checkpoint, but aid agencies have said they still cannot get supplies through.

Today’s Most Read

What We’re Following

Political appointments. Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed reappointing Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Friday. Russia’s lower house of parliament approved the nomination the same day, as there is virtually no opposition to Putin among lawmakers. Parliamentarians with the nominally opposition Communist Party abstained rather than voting against the proposal. Mishustin, a career bureaucrat, has been key to countering Western sanctions against Russia and keeping the country’s economy going since Putin launched his war on Ukraine. No major cabinet shake-ups are expected.

To counter Russian influence efforts in Europe, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk appointed an outspoken critic of the Kremlin on Friday to be his new interior minister. Tomasz Siemoniak served as Poland’s defense minister from 2011 to 2015 and will continue his role as coordinator of special services while overseeing the Interior Ministry. Three other cabinet positions—culture, state assets, and development and technology—were reshuffled in an effort to undo decisions made by the previous right-wing government. This was Tusk’s first shake-up since taking office last December.

Back on the campaign trail. India’s Supreme Court ordered the temporary release of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday to allow the opposition leader to campaign in ongoing general elections. Kejriwal—released on bail until voting ends on June 1, three days before election results are expected—was arrested in March on charges that he accepted bribes from liquor contractors in 2021. His Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has denied the allegations, calling them politically motivated.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are currently favored to win the elections. India’s two AAP-governed areas, the National Capital Territory that includes New Delhi and the northern state of Punjab, go to the polls on May 25 and June 1, respectively. The southern state of Karnataka has also become a key battleground between the BJP and Indian National Congress party, which the AAP supports.

Leaked conversation. Philippine National Security Advisor Eduardo Año called for the expulsion of Chinese diplomats on Friday over an alleged leaked phone call between a Chinese politician and a Philippine admiral. During the call, the Philippine official reportedly conceded to Chinese demands over the disputed South China Sea, specifically agreeing to limit the number of vessels that Manila uses for resupply missions and to give Beijing prior notice of actions in the area.

Tensions between the two countries have risen in recent months as both nations accuse the other of encroaching on their maritime sovereignty. Beijing has repeatedly cited a “secret agreement” made with former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte that says Manila promises not to repair or build structures at Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef in the South China Sea that the Philippines took control of in 1999. Manila denies that such an agreement exists.

What in the World?

Trade unions held a nationwide strike in which Latin American country on Thursday?

A. PeruB. MexicoC. ChileD. Argentina

Odds and Ends

Pandas are no longer the only face of animal diplomacy. On Tuesday, Malaysia offered to gift orangutans to countries that buy its palm oil, of which the country is the world’s second-largest producer. Plantation and Commodities Minister Johari Abdul Ghani specifically urged the European Union, China, and India to consider the deal. Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, the two pandas that Beijing is expected to send to the United States’ San Diego Zoo, had no comment about their new competition.

And the Answer Is…

D. Argentina

Argentine President Javier Milei entered office last December promising massive economic reform. Many of his austerity policies have left people struggling financially and, in some cases, hungry, Lautaro Grinspan wrote in March.

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