On Tuesday, Palestinians submitted a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council that would have set a tight deadline for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. It was defeated, receiving support from only eight out of 15 members.
U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power, whose past criticisms of Israel were a source of controversy during her confirmation hearings last year, cast the U.S. vote against what she called a “deeply imbalanced” resolution. Secretary of State John Kerry, an extremely unpopular figure in Tel Aviv whose attempted intervention in last summer’s conflict in Gaza was described by a senior Israeli official as a “strategic terror attack,” worked the phones, reportedly convincing Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan at the last minute to switch from supporting the resolution to abstaining, denying it the nine votes needed for passage.