Envoy says US proved right on MidEast vote

US AMBASSADOR to Canberra Jeff Bleich says Washington has been vindicated in voting against giving Palestine observer status at the UN, pointing to the provocative aftermath in the Middle East.

His defence came after Labor backbencher Michael Danby launched an attack on Foreign Minister Bob Carr, accusing him of undermining Julia Gillard by lobbying for an abstention in defiance of the Prime Minister's preference for a no vote.

The Prime Minister had pushed for a no vote in cabinet, but was ultimately rolled by her caucus colleagues.

Mr Bleich weighed into the issue yesterday, saying the US had always believed a yes vote had the potential to drive Israel and Palestine further apart and derail progress on a two-state-solution.

Following Australia's abstention, the disappointment of the US was conveyed to Australia's ambassador in Washington, Kim Beazley, with Mr Bleich suggesting yesterday that a no vote was the better position.

"It was our assessment coming into this vote about upgrading Palestinian status in the UN, that this was not going to advance our goal," he said. "Obviously Australia didn't favour voting in favour of upgrading the status or, if they had, they would have voted yes.

"Instead they voted to abstain and I think that's because they were concerned that perhaps we were right in our assessment. The last few days have suggested that unfortunately maybe we were right because it doesn't seem to have brought anyone closer together."

The resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status was passed in the UN General Assembly last month by 138 votes to nine, with 41 abstentions.

Senator Carr yesterday defended the abstention as the right decision and rejected claims from Mr Danby that he was disloyal to Julia Gillard by playing the role of a "Tiberius on the telephone" to undermine her support for Israel.

"Michael is simply wrong when he attributes to me that sort of active engagement," he told ABC radio.

"I describe Michael, who is a great friend of mine, as being a stronger Labor Zionist than Ben Gurion, than the founder of the state of Israel himself."

Following the decision to upgrade Palestine's status, Israel responded by approving more housing units in East Jerusalem and the West Bank in addition to withholding tax revenue from the Palestinian Authority.