US puts pressure on Palestinian leaders to withdraw bid for UN vice-presidency role

In state department cable, Jerusalem embassy told to issue protest to Palestinian Authority leaders, warning ‘consequences will follow’ if they failed to comply

The US has ordered its Jerusalem embassy to pressure the Palestinian leadership into dropping a bid for a UN general assembly vice-presidency, anxious that the role could allow Palestinians to chair high-profile debates on the Middle East.

A 19 May state department cable seen by the Guardian instructed the US embassy in Jerusalem to issue a démarche (a formal protest) to the leaders of the Palestinian Authority (PA) pressuring them to withdraw the bid by 22 May, warning that “consequences will follow” if they failed to comply.