Palestinian officials are trying to convince the US administration to support their renewed attempt to gain full membership in the United Nations.
However, some Palestinians on Thursday ruled out the possibility that the US administration would support the move. They pointed out that the membership bid requires the approval of the UN Security Council, where America has the right to veto such a resolution.
In 2012, the UN General Assembly granted the Palestinians non-member observer status.
On Wednesday, PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called on the US administration not to block the Palestinians’ bid for full membership in the UN. He made the call during a meeting in Ramallah with US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr.
“We seek to move the political file again requesting full membership in the UN in the absence of political initiatives to solve the Palestinian cause,” Shtayyeh said. “It is necessary that the US administration support the Palestinians and fulfill its promises, especially the reopening of the US Consulate in Jerusalem in order to preserve the two-state solution.”
“We seek to move the political file again requesting full membership in the UN in the absence of political initiatives to solve the Palestinian cause,”
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh
Shtayyeh also urged the US to recognize the Palestinian state.
PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said on Thursday that the US administration remains opposed to the Palestinian bid.
Other members of the UN Security Council have responded positively to the effort to gain full membership, he said.
US administration said no, UNSC said otherwise
The PA leadership, al-Malki said, will try to convince US Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf, who is expected to visit Ramallah in the coming days, to support the Palestinian bid. The PA leadership will continue to hold consultations with the US administration to advance the plan for full Palestinian membership in the UN, he said.
A PA official in Ramallah said that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was planning to submit a new request for Palestinian membership in the UN during his visit participating in the General Assembly meeting later this month.
The official claimed that several countries have promised to vote in favor of the application.
“We can’t continue waiting for the Biden administration to fulfill its promises to the Palestinians,” said the official. “We have decided to proceed with the membership application to reactivate the political process and end the current stalemate.”
Mahmoud Aloul, deputy chairman of the ruling Fatah faction, criticized the Biden administration for opposing the Palestinian membership bid.
“The US administration continues to hinder our attempt to gain membership in the UN,” Aloul said. “This is unjustified. The Palestinians are entitled to obtain full membership because the status quo cannot continue forever.”
“We have decided to proceed with the membership application to reactivate the political process and end the current stalemate.”
PA official in Ramallah
Palestinian political analyst Ahmed Rafik Awad said the chances of obtaining full membership in the UN are “non-existent” because the US and other countries don’t see an urgent need to establish a Palestinian state.
Awad told the Palestinian Al-Watan Voice website that Israel has managed to convince the US and other countries not to support the Palestinian bid.
“The Zionist lobby controls the decision-making process in Western countries,” he claimed.
Another political analyst, Mohammed Hawwash, was quoted by the same website as saying the Palestinians’ chances of gaining full membership in the UN are “zero” because of US support for Israel. He said that the Palestinians should still proceed with the bid, notwithstanding US opposition.