The United Nations Security Council is poised for a critical vote on the Palestinian request for full UN membership, a move anticipated to be thwarted by the United States.
Scheduled for Friday, the vote follows the submission of a draft resolution recommending Palestine’s admission as a UN member state.
For the resolution to pass, it requires at least nine affirmative votes from the 15-member council, without any veto from permanent members such as the US, UK, France, Russia, or China.
Although the resolution may garner support from up to 13 council members, the US is expected to exercise its veto power.
The timing of the vote coincides with a Security Council meeting on the Middle East, adding significance to the deliberations.
However, the US has consistently emphasized the necessity of achieving Palestinian statehood through direct negotiations between the involved parties, rather than through UN intervention.
Currently, Palestine holds the status of a non-member observer state, a designation granted by the UN General Assembly in 2012.
Attaining full UN membership necessitates approval from the Security Council followed by a two-thirds majority vote in the General Assembly.
Despite the UN’s longstanding endorsement of a two-state solution, tangible progress towards Palestinian statehood has remained elusive.
The Palestinian Authority, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, administers limited self-rule in the West Bank, while Gaza is controlled by Hamas since 2007.
The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza and Israel’s expansion of settlements in the West Bank further exacerbate the complexities of the situation.
Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan has strongly opposed the UN’s consideration of Palestinian membership, alleging it promotes the establishment of a “terrorist state.”
Erdan warns that endorsing Palestine’s membership would undermine the Security Council’s legitimacy.
