PRESS RELEASE        

For Immediate Release  

PLO Executive Committee     

Departmentof Culture and Information    

December 31, 2014       

Dr. Ashrawi: The UN Security Council Vote is Outrageously Shameful   

PLO Executive Committee member, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, strongly  denounced the UN Security Council vote in which the resolution to end the Israeli occupation failedto pass: 

 “The UN SecurityCouncil vote is outrageously shameful. It is ironic that whilethe United Nationsdesignated 2014 as the InternationalYear  of Solidarity with the PalestinianPeople, the resolution failed to pass asan indication of a failure ofwill by some members ofthe international community. Furthermore, all the articles of theresolution are consistent       with declared Americanpolicy, international law, UN resolutions, andthe requirements of peace. The extent to which the U.S. has  gone to protect Israeli impunity and lawlessness and to enable its criminalbehavior is disgraceful and dangerous.

Those countries (Lithuania, Nigeria, Rwanda, SouthKorea, and the U.K.) that abstained demonstrated a lack of political will  to hold Israel accountable and to act inaccordance  with the global rule of law andinternational humanitarian law and their own avowed principles.        

We extend our gratitudeand appreciation to all the countries, in particular France and Luxembourg, that upheld their         principles and voted in favorof theresolution.           

We strongly urge all governments worldwide to officially recognize an independentPalestine on 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital and to support our  multilateralefforts of resorting toall international venues to seek the protectionand empowermentof Palestine and accountability for Israel. This is the inevitable next stepgiven such an abysmal failure of willon the part of some members of  the internationalcommunityand the collusion with Israel by others.”