The Middle East Adviser for the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations (UN), Israel Nitzan, told the Palestinian Authority (PA) on Tuesday night that statehood cannot be achieved using provocations.
Nitzan made a statement to the Security Council shortly after it rejected the PA’s resolution which would have set a deadline for Israel to withdraw from lands the PA considers to be “occupied territory”.
“The Palestinians have found every possible opportunity to avoid direct negotiations. They have engaged in a never-ending string of political games and now they are parading into this Council with preposterous unilateral proposals,” he said.
“I have news for the Palestinians - you cannot agitate and provoke your way to a state,” continued Nitzan.
“I urge the Council to stop indulging the Palestinians and put an end to their march of folly,” he concluded.
The unilateral resolution failed to pass the Security Council after only eight countries voted in favor of the resolution, one short of the nine required to pass it. Two countries voted against, and there were five abstentions.
France, China and Russia were among the countries that supported the text. Australia and the United States voted against.
The resolution failed to pass despite earlier claims by the PA that it had the necessary nine-vote majority to enable it to pass the resolution calling for recognition of a "Palestinian state" as well as an Israeli withdrawal from Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem by the end of 2017.
Had the resolution passed, it would have forced the United States - which has stated its firm opposition to such unilateral measures - to use its veto at the Security Council, potentially causing tensions with some of America's Arab allies in the UN.
As recently as Monday, PA foreign minister Riyad Al-Maliki had indicated that the vote would be postponed until after the new year, after the vote was put off last Friday and again on Monday. Analysts believed the PA would be better off to wait until after January 1, when the make-up of the Security Council will change and more countries with pro-PA stances become members.