UPDATE - Turkey slams US veto of UN resolution on Palestinians

ADDS STATEMENT FROM TURKEY’S FOREIGN MINISTRY

By Kubra Chohan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin on Saturday criticized the U.S. for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution calling for the protection of Palestinians.

“It is not surprising that the U.S. administration vetoed the resolution for the protection of the Palestinian people,” Kalin said on Twitter.

“This confirms once more that they side with the powerful, not the righteous.

“The Palestinian people and Jerusalem are not alone. We will continue to support their just cause,” he added.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry also “deeply regretted” the veto.

In a statement, it said it was “inexplicable” that a proposal including the security, protection and prosperity of Palestinians was vetoed in the UN Security Council, which is “the primary authorized and responsible mechanism for international peace, stability and security”.

“The fact that the UN Security Council is once again dysfunctional in establishing accountability and deterrence in the context of violence against Palestinians has also shown that UN reform is an unpostponable necessity,” it said.

“Turkey will continue to be a follower of the Palestinian cause on all platforms, particularly in the UN General Assembly.”

On May 18, Kuwait submitted a draft resolution at the UN Security Council that condemned Israeli violence and called for "protection of the Palestinian people" in Gaza and the West Bank.

The U.S. on Friday vetoed the resolution. Ten countries voted in favor, while the UK, Poland, the Netherlands and Ethiopia abstained.

The resolution, which was revised three times and was said to have been “watered down”, previously called for international protection for the Palestinian people.

The final draft called for “the consideration of measures to guarantee the safety and protection of the Palestinian civilian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in the Gaza Strip”.