Diplomatic shift: Argentina refused to declare Palestine a full member of the United Nations and ratified its alliance with the United States and Israel

The government of Javier Miley voted against a project promoted by the coalition of Arab states, Venezuela and Nicaragua, among others, to declare the State of Palestine a full member of the United Nations, which was put up for discussion at the UN General Assembly, in New York. The attack by that international bloc occurred at a time when Israel was being questioned over its attack against Hamas terrorists, who are active in Gaza, where the attack was launched against the civilian population and left more than a thousand and a half civilians dead.

It was a diplomatic evolution of the Argentine tradition of support for Palestinian claims, which responds to a foreign policy defined by a seamless alliance with the United States and Israel. This idea, which has been in place since December 10, received new emphasis this week in the president-led action in honor of Holocaust victims. “Bias is not an option among others, but rather a moral obligation.”claimed.

As much as he could know informationArgentine Ambassador Ricardo Lagorio – a diplomat with extensive experience and Argentina’s representative to the United Nations – was responsible for expressing Argentina’s rejection of the initiative, which, although it came out of the Arab world, gained support in Latin America, and countries such as Venezuela, Colombia and Nicaragua, where it works. Leftist regimes.

It is a vote that modified a tradition that Argentina supported in support of the demands of Palestine, the country that has diplomatic representation in Buenos Aires.

The truth is that Milley’s government voted with 9 other countries to reject the allegations of the coalition of countries that stood behind the Arab world’s position: in addition to Israel and the United States, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and Papua New Guinea.

Foreign policy experts he consulted information They stressed that the vote cast by the representative of Argentina, in compliance with the directives of Secretary of State Diana Mondino and President Milley, distances itself from the diplomatic line that the country has always maintained, which recognizes not only Israel but also the Palestinian demand to accept it as an independent state. The country is under construction.

A prominent specialist in Middle East affairs explained, “The situation in Gaza, which is an area that Palestine does not control, because Hamas runs it, changes the entire landscape.” Israel is being questioned about its right to defend itself, and the Arab world is exploiting this circumstance to further weaken its international standing, trying to show it is alone. Argentina was placed with Israel, the United States, and the governments of Hungary and the Czech Republic.”

Today, Friday, the United Nations General Assembly voted by a majority of 143 votes in favor of the draft resolution, through which it sought to provide political support for Palestine’s aspirations to integrate into the orbit of the United Nations, by granting more representation rights. The statement also included criticism of the United States due to its veto power applied in the Security Council.

In addition to the positive and negative votes, 25 countries also abstained from voting: Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Fiji, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Latvia, Italy, Lithuania, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Monaco, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. North Macedonia, Moldova, Paraguay, Romania, Vanuatu, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Sweden and Switzerland.

The Security Council, the main executive body of the United Nations, had blocked the inclusion of Palestine as a full member state in mid-April, and the only vote was against the United States, so the General Assembly, where all countries that are part of the United Nations, sought to align against North American position.

Palestine is part of the United Nations as a non-member observer state, at the same level as the Vatican, but if the initiative goes ahead, it will have greater representation and voice – not a vote – within the assembly, according to the text.

The resolution stated that “the State of Palestine is eligible for membership,” and recommended that the Security Council reconsider the matter, although it could not force that council to do so. The text, compiled by the Europa Press news agency, “reaffirms the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination,” which includes “their right to an independent State of Palestine” and “an end to the Israeli occupation.”

However, the promoting countries have inserted nuance into the materials to make it clear that this gesture towards the Palestinians is “exceptional” and “does not set a precedent”, given the apparent fear of some powers over other territories whose sovereignty still exists. It is also possible that disputed states, such as Taiwan and Kosovo, could demand a similar framework. Added to this is the concern in the Argentine diplomatic sphere that this vote could somehow affect the claim to sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, in the face of the English occupation.

The General Assembly has previously spoken on several occasions since the beginning of the escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, and in December it called for a ceasefire by a majority of more than 150 votes. In all those votes, as is the case today, Argentina sided with Israel and the United States.