The United Nations Security Council will on Friday, April 19 vote on a Palestinian request for full UN membership.
However, it is anticipated that Israel ally, the United States will block the request. This is because it would effectively recognize a Palestinian State, Diplomats stated.
According to Diplomats, “The 15-member Council is due to vote at 3 p.m. (1900 GMT) Friday on a draft resolution that recommends to the 193-member U.N. General Assembly that “the State of Palestine be admitted to membership of the United Nations.”
“A council resolution needs at least nine votes in favor. And this means there will be no vetoes by the U.S., Britain, France, Russia or China to pass.
But according to Diplomats, the measure could have the support of up to 13 Council members. If this happens, it would force the U.S. to use its veto.
The draft resolution was submitted by Council member Algeria. While submitting the request, Algeria had requested a vote for Thursday afternoon to coincide with a Security Council meeting on the Middle East,. The meeting is due to be attended by several ministers.
However, the United States has said that establishing an independent Palestinian State should happen through direct negotiations. The US position is that the resolution should be between the parties and not at the United Nations.
“We do not see that doing a resolution in the Security Council will necessarily get us to a place where we can find … a two-state solution moving forward,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Wednesday.
Recall that the Palestinians are currently a non-member observer State at the UN. This is a de facto recognition of statehood that was granted by the 193-member U.N. General Assembly in 2012. An application to become a full U.N. member needs to be approved by the Security Council. And then, at least two-thirds of the General Assembly.
“The U.N. Security Council has long endorsed a vision of two States living side by side within secure and recognized borders. Palestinians want a State in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, all territory captured by Israel in 1967.
“Little progress has been made on achieving Palestinian Statehood since the signing of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the early 1990s.
“The Palestinian Authority, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank and is Israel’s partner to the Oslo Accords. Hamas in 2007 ousted the Palestinian Authority from power in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian push for full U.N. membership is coming on the heels of the six months into a war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. This is even as Israel is expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank.
However, Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan on Wednesday accused the Security Council of dancing towards the Palestinian. He maintained that the UN is “investing its time in promoting the establishment of a Palestinian terrorist State.”
Erdan warned that “If the Security Council decides to recommend full membership for the Palestinian Authority, which incites and finances terrorism and has no control over its territory, it will lose all legitimacy.”
Recall that a Security Council committee on the admission of new members – made up of all 15 council members – met twice last week. They had discuss the Palestinian application and agreed to a report on the issue on Tuesday.
However, the Committee was unable to resolve if the application met all the criteria for membership. Therefore, the Committee was unable to make a unanimous recommendation to the Security Council.”
According to report from the Committee, “differing views were expressed concerning the application.”
Recall that U.N. membership is open to “peace-loving States”. Members must accept the obligations in the founding U.N. Charter and are able and willing to carry them out.
source: Reuters
