Palestine's Request for Voting in the Security Council Suspended

Riyad al-Maliki, the foreign minister of the Palestinian government, has stated that the authority has suspended its request for a vote from the Security Council. This request pertains to a resolution aimed at ending 'Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories by November 2016.' The Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported from the West Bank on December 3 that al-Maliki argued that the necessary support for this request among the fifteen permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council has not been achieved. The draft resolution that the Palestinians sought to have approved was presented to the Security Council by Palestinian leadership a few weeks ago. Approval of this resolution requires at least the support of 9 Security Council members. According to Ma'an, U.S. pressure on Palestinian leadership to withdraw the request for a vote on such a draft resolution has been influential. Al-Maliki stated that the U.S. government had threatened Palestinians with sanctions. The Palestinian foreign minister also added to Ma'an that the global community's focus on the nuclear negotiations between the 1+5 countries and Iran regarding the Islamic Republic's nuclear program has deprived the Palestinian request of a proper opportunity for discussion. Palestinians say that due to discouragement from the prospect of renewing political negotiations with Israel, they have no choice but to turn to global institutions like the Security Council and the International Criminal Court in The Hague for 'ending Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories' and forming a Palestinian state. In this context, Benjamin Netanyahu urged France to refrain from recognizing a 'Palestinian state' as he claimed this would 'distance Palestinians from the path of political negotiations with Israel.' The French National Assembly is set to vote on recognizing the 'Palestinian state' in the coming days. The Italian parliament will also conduct a similar vote soon. Last Tuesday, the Spanish parliament recognized the 'Palestinian state' with supportive votes from all factions. Prior to this, the British House of Commons and the Irish parliament took similar actions. While resolutions from European parliaments are not binding on their governments' policies, Sweden is the only EU member that recognized the 'Palestinian state' two months ago by changing its official policy. Meanwhile, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, stated last Friday during a meeting with Charles Michel, the Belgian Prime Minister, that Germany opposes recognizing the 'Palestinian state' and considers it premature. The European Parliament is expected to decide on a unified policy regarding the recognition of the 'Palestinian state' by the parliaments of member countries in the coming days. The European Parliament's session on this matter is scheduled for November 27 at its headquarters in Strasbourg, France. Israeli media reported that Netanyahu's government is 'worried' about the European Parliament's decision. In the meantime, the Israeli government, at Netanyahu's insistence, approved a bill defining Israel as a 'country for the Jewish nationality' during a meeting on Sunday, December 2. Israeli media reported that the government meeting to approve this bill became highly contentious, with ministers shouting at each other and pushing tables. Despite opposition from some allied parties, the bill received the necessary majority. Opponents argue that turning this bill into law would make all non-Jews living in Israel second-class citizens. However, Netanyahu defended the bill by saying that democratic values in Israel's Declaration of Independence, written by Israel's founders, would hold equal value alongside the Jewish national identity of Israel. The bill is set to be voted on in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, on Wednesday, December 4. Amir Peretz, a former environment minister who resigned from the government last month in protest against Netanyahu's 'extremism,' told the Hebrew section of Israel Radio on Monday, December 3, that this bill is not only against Arabs but also turns 300,000 immigrants to Israel, whose Jewishness is in doubt, into second-class citizens. Peretz referred to a large group of immigrants from the former Soviet republics. In this context, at least four were killed following an attack by two Palestinians on a synagogue in Jerusalem. Friday prayers in Jerusalem were held 'calmly and without age restrictions.' The new EU foreign policy chief stated that a Palestinian state must be established. The situation is changing for 'proxies'; a war against people in the streets of Iran. The first paragraph; the responsibility of opponents and the possibility of radicalization in Iranian society. The last representative of Mossad in Tehran passed away amid the Iran crisis. Two weeks after a complete blackout, the time for reconnecting the internet in Iran is still 'uncertain.' The shadow of war over Tehran; 'Trump is looking for decisive military options against Iran.' Trump stated that if the Islamic Republic attempts to assassinate him, it will be 'erased from the earth.' A senior U.S. official: The Trump administration is closely monitoring the case of Reza Valizadeh. The Islamic Republic announced that the number of casualties from the protests in January was 'three thousand and 117.'