Members of the United Nations Security Council failed to reach an agreement Thursday on Palestinians’ push for full UN membership, implying that the longshot campaign is now likely to be put to a more official council vote.
Palestinians, who have enjoyed observer status at the world body since 2012, have long sought full membership, which would imply recognition of Palestinian statehood.
Any proposal to become a UN member state must first go through the Security Council, where Israel’s ally the United States has a veto, and then be approved by the General Assembly.
In light of Israel’s onslaught in Gaza, Palestinians resurrected their 2011 UN membership application last week, prompting the Security Council to launch a formal review process. This includes the ad hoc committee made up of the council’s member states, which failed to reach consensus Thursday.
“There was no consensus, during its closed-door meeting”, stated Maltese Ambassador Vanessa Frazier, who is serving as the council’s rotating presidency for April.
However, she stated that two-thirds of the members supported the full membership, but did not name which countries.
While the ad hoc committee can only proceed by consensus ( loosely speaking, when everyone agrees), any Security Council member may now propose a resolution for a vote on the matter.
Washington argues that the United Nations is not the appropriate forum for discussing Palestinian statehood, which should be the result of an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
“All we ask for is to take our rightful place among the community of nations”, Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour said.
The Gaza war began after Hamas launched an unprecedented onslaught attack against Israel on October 7, killing 1,170 persons.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 33,545 individuals in Gaza, mostly women and children.
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