US rejects appointment of Palestinian Salam Fayyad as new delegate to Libya

File Photo: Salam Fayyad attends an opening reception of Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Delevopment (CEAPAD) in Tokyo February 13, 2013. REUTERS/Issei Kato

The United States objected on Friday to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ choice of former Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad as the body’s new representative to Libya, Reuters reported.

It was unclear whether the objection, expressed in a statement by Nikki Haley, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, Haley, had ended Fayyad’s candidacy, according to Reuters.

No one was immediately available from the secretary-general’s office for comment.

“The United States was disappointed to see a letter indicating the intention to appoint the former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister to lead the UN Mission in Libya,” Haley said in her statement.

“For too long the U.N. has been unfairly biased in favor of the Palestinian Authority to the detriment of our allies in Israel,” she said.

Haley added that the United States “does not currently recognize a Palestinian state or support the signal this appointment would send within the United Nation.”

Reuters also reported that the U.S. ambassador said Washington encouraged Israel and the Palestinians “to come together directly on a solution” to end their conflict.

Guterres selected Fayyad to take over as Libya envoy from Martin Kobler, a German diplomat who has served as the U.N. representative since November 2015.

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