US arm twists Palestinian Authority to drop bid for UN vice-presidency role

Amid the brewing tensions in West Asia, reports are emerging that the United States has ordered its Jerusalem embassy to press the Palestinian leadership to withdraw its bid for the vice presidency role at the UN General Assembly.

According to a report by The Guardian, the Americans are anxious that the role would end up allowing Palestinians to chair high-profile debates on West Asia. The plan was indicated in the US State Department cable dated May 19. As per the report, the memo instructed the US embassy in Jerusalem to issue a demarche (a formal protest) to the leaders of the Palestinian Authority over the matter.

It urged the consulate to put pressure on the Palestinian authority to withdraw the bid for a role as vice-president of the general assembly by 22 May, warning that “consequences will follow” if they failed to comply. The cable is coming at a time when US President Donald Trump's administration has resisted all moves for Palestinian statehood.

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They are now seeking to pressure the Palestinian observer mission at the UN to withdraw its bid for one of 16 vice-presidential positions on the general assembly, which are due to be elected on June 2, along with the president of the year-long session. The

US remains against Palestinian bid

The US mission has “repeatedly appealed” to the Palestinians to stand down, according to the cable. “In a worst-case scenario, the next PGA [president of the general assembly] might assist the Palestinians in presiding over high-profile sessions related to the Middle East or during UNGA81 high-level week,” the cable read, referring to a week of summits and leaders’ speeches planned for September in New York.

It is pertinent to note that the Palestinians are running as one of four delegations on an Asia-Pacific group slate. While the vice presidential role is less prominent than the presidency, the cable noted that the vice presidents could be deputised to oversee general assembly sessions.

The memo noted that the Palestinian diplomat Riyad Mansour, the long-serving representative of the Palestinian mission, withdrew his candidacy for general assembly president in February after American lobbying, a move Washington said showed he “understood the gravity of the issue and intended to be constructive”.

It went on to warn that the vice presidency bid “calls that into question” and accuses the Palestinian Authority of prioritising “symbolic appointments” over substantive engagement. The memo maintained that the candidacy “undermines President Trump’s Comprehensive Plan”, which is the administration’s 20-point proposal for the reconstruction of Gaza that involved the creation of the Board of Peace.

“A bully pulpit for Mansour would not improve the lives of Palestinians and would significantly damage US relations with the PA. Congress will take it extremely seriously,” the state department cable said, adding: “To be clear. We will hold the PA responsible if the Palestinian delegation does not withdraw its VPGA candidacy, and consequences will follow.”

“It would be unfortunate to have to revisit any available options,” the cable said, in an apparent threat to revoke the visas of the Palestinian UN mission. Separately, the American diplomats were instructed to remind the Palestinians that if they did not “engage in good faith without internationalising disagreements in courts”, they would make no progress in recouping tax and customs revenue owed to them but withheld by the Israeli government.