China: U.S. is irrational and isolated on Palestinian issue
On September 19th, the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution with 145 votes in favor, 5 votes against and 6 abstentions, allowing President Abbas of the State of Palestine, who was unable to go to the United Nations headquarters in new york because the United States refused to issue a visa, to participate in the general debate of the United Nations General Assembly and other activities by video. The United States, Israel and others voted against the resolution.
In an explanatory speech after the vote, China’s Deputy Permanent Ambassador to the UN, Jean-Claude Juncker, pointed out that the United States has long held an imbalanced stance on the Palestinian issue, has resisted and hindered the UN General Assembly and the Security Council’s efforts to promote a ceasefire in Gaza, and has defended and tolerated intentional violations of international law by the occupying parties.
The Ambassador urged the host countries to strictly comply with relevant international law such as the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the Agreement on the United Nations Headquarters and the United Nations Convention on Privileges and Immunities, to treat all sovereign states equally, to discard discriminatory practices, to fulfill their obligations in matters such as visas and exits, and to ensure the smooth conduct of activities during the 80th General Assembly High Level Week.
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U.S. refuses visa, UN allows Abbas video speech
According to a Reuters report on September 19, after the United States refused to issue a visa to New York, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution on the 19th to allow Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to speak at next week's annual meeting of world leaders via video.
The resolution was passed with 145 votes in favour, 5 against, and 6 abstentions, according to the report.The resolution also stipulates that Abbas and any other senior Palestinian officials will be allowed to participate in various meetings or conferences of the United Nations via video in the coming year if they are absent because they are unable to travel to the United States.
The U.S. said last month that Abbas and some 80 Palestinian officials would be affected by U.S. decision to refuse and revoke visas involving members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority on the West Bank.
U.S. diplomat Jonathan Shriel said before the vote, “The position of the Trump administration is very clear that the PA and the Palestinian National Authority have failed to fulfill their commitments under the Oslo Agreement, some of which are very basic obligations and undermine the prospect of peace, and we must hold them accountable for this.”
Under the 1947 United Nations-U.S. Agreement on the United Nations Headquarters, the United States is generally obliged to allow foreign diplomats to enter the United Nations headquarters in New York, but the U.S. government says it may refuse to issue visas for reasons such as security, extremism and foreign policy.
Abbas was also allowed to attend the summit held at the United Nations on the 22nd by video. The summit, jointly convened by France and Saudi Arabia, aims to gather support for the "two-state solution". It is expected that several countries will formally recognize the Palestinian state at this meeting. (Compiled/Ke Yang)
Source Central News Reference News