Palestinian Authority demands April vote for full UN membership
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The Security Council is set to make a decision on the Middle East at an April 18 ministerial meeting.
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Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour during a UN Security Council meeting in 2018 (AFP)
The Palestinian Authority wants the United Nations Security Council to vote this month, April, to grant it full membership to the world body, the Palestinian envoy at the UN told Reuters on Monday.
However, this move, just like others, can be blocked by "Israel's" ally, the United States.
Riyad Mansour, who has permanent observer status at the United Nations, revealed the Palestinian intentions as "Israel's" war on Gaza rages on for the 178th day.
Mansour informed Reuters that the goal was for the Security Council to make a decision on the Middle East at an April 18 ministerial meeting, but that no vote had yet been set. He stated that a 2011 Palestinian application for full membership was still outstanding since the 15-member council never issued a formal decision.
"The intention is to put the application to a vote in the Security Council this month," he expressed.
Global pressure has intensified for a restart of attempts to broker a "two-state solution" that includes an independent Palestinian state alongside "Israel".
An application to become a full member of the UN must first be accepted by the Security Council, which the United States may veto, and then by at least two-thirds of the General Assembly's 193 members.
In 2011, a Security Council committee spent several weeks assessing the Palestinian appeal which ended in no unanimous decision.
To be enacted, a resolution must have at least nine votes in favor and have no vetoes from the United States, Russia, China, France, or Britain.
Rather than lobbying for a council vote, the Palestinians applied to the UNGA to become a non-member observer state and, in November 2012, the assembly adopted the de facto recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state.
Last month, UN human rights official Volker Turk argued that Israeli settlements pose a threat to the existence of a Palestinian state, adding that "Israel's" usurpation of more land in occupied territory constituted a war crime.
In February, US President Joe Biden's government stated that "Israel's" development of West Bank settlements was illegal under international law, marking a return to long-standing US policy on the topic, which had been reversed by the previous administration of Donald Trump.
Palestinian state would constitute 'prize' for October 7: Netanyahu
In February, after the Israeli Knesset unilaterally rejected the recognition of a Palestinian state, Netanyahu told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that granting Palestine sovereignty would equate to "a prize to the Palestinians for what happened on Oct. 7."
"Israel's" top ministers expressed their outrage over a news article published in The Washington Post, which claimed that "Israel's" major ally, the United States, was pushing preparations to establish a Palestinian state.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that in "no way" would the occupying forces agree to the statehood, which according to him "says Palestinians deserve a prize for the terrible massacre they carried out against us."
The Palestinians Smotrich is referring to, are the 32,845, murdered men, women, and children killed at the hands of "Israel".
He called a Palestinian state an "existential threat" to the Israeli occupation, citing that he would convene with the security cabinet later Thursday to take a "clear position against Palestinian statehood."
Smotrich in late January made similar remarks, telling the US to "wise up" about any chance of a Palestinian state.
