Turkey supports Palestine's bid for full UN membership

Turkey's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Ahmet Yıldız, spoke at a UN General Assembly meeting held following the US veto of a draft resolution requesting full UN membership for Palestine.

"We reaffirm our unwavering support for Palestine's application for full membership in the UN," said Yıldız, calling on the international community to address the Palestinian issue urgently by recognizing the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people. Yıldız stated, "Turkey believes that the use of the veto power in the UN Security Council should not prevent the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people. This situation should also not hinder the immediate establishment of a ceasefire."

Ambassador Yıldız remarked, "Last week, due to the veto of a permanent member of the Security Council (the US), Palestine was once again denied the place it deserves within the international community." Yıldız said that this veto disregarded not only the will of the Palestinian people but also the affirmative votes of other member countries of the Security Council.

"The only viable option to break the endless cycle of violence is a two-state solution," said Yıldız, noting that repeated vetoes "constitute a serious blow" to the founding principles of the UN and the Council's mandate to maintain international peace and security.

DEMANDED "IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROVISIONAL MEASURES" FOR GAZA

Ahmet Yıldız emphasized that the Palestinian issue continues to be one of the "longest-standing" and "most urgent" problems regarding "peace and security in the Middle East."

Reporting that the world has witnessed a brutal attack on Gaza for the last 7 months, Yıldız reminded that approximately 35 thousand Palestinians have been killed and 1.7 million people have been internally displaced due to the Security Council's failure to take decisive action.

Demanding the immediate implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions and the provisional measures adopted by the International Court of Justice, Ambassador Yıldız emphasized that they categorically reject a military operation against Rafah and attempts to expel the Palestinian people from their own lands.

"Israel is not only killing civilians indiscriminately but also preventing the entry and distribution of sufficient humanitarian aid into Gaza," said Yıldız, stating that if a ceasefire is not achieved, there is a risk that the cruelty in Gaza could turn into a global catastrophe with consequences far beyond the region.

Yıldız noted the following:

"The consequences of abandoning international law will only bring more instability, more aggression, more conflict, and more suffering. Our concerns regarding the regional spread of the conflict have already become a reality. The events in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and the Red Sea are alarming."

US VETOED PALESTINE'S FULL MEMBERSHIP

The US vetoed the draft resolution requesting full UN membership for Palestine at the UN Security Council on April 19.

During the vote, the UK and Switzerland abstained, while Russia, China, France, Algeria, Malta, Ecuador, Guyana, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, South Korea, and Japan voted "yes."

The text of the draft resolution included the phrase, "It is recommended to the UN General Assembly that Palestine be admitted as a full member."

Palestine also applied for full UN membership in 2011 but failed to receive the necessary support in the UNSC. Palestine attained "permanent observer" status at the UN in 2012.

News Source: AA