Israel has vowed to work with the US to block a bid by the Palestinians for full membership in the UN, a move that would confer international recognition of Palestinian statehood.
Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said he would submit a request next month to the Security Council for full UN membership, according to the official Wafa Palestinian news agency.
“We are preparing to stop the initiative,” Israeli UN ambassador Danny Danon said. “The Palestinians pay terrorists and encourage violence yet seek to become a member state of the United Nations.”
Mr Danon accused Palestinian leaders of engaging in “destructive policies that have encouraged recent terror attacks” and said he was gearing up to block the initiative “in co-operation with the United States delegation”.
Any move by the Palestinians to seek full UN membership would face a veto from the US at the Security Council, diplomats said. Under UN rules, the General Assembly must approve any request to become a UN member-state, but it must first be submitted to the Security Council.
To win the council’s approval, the Palestinians would have to secure nine votes from the 15 members and no veto from any of the five permanent members: Britain, France, China, Russia and the US.
Read the article in The Australian (AFP).