UNITED NATIONS, United States: The UN Security Council (UNSC) is set to vote today (Thursday) on a Palestinian bid for full membership — a measure almost doomed to fail despite growing international distress over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The vote comes more than six months into Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip in the besieged Palestinian territory, in response for the deadly October 7 attack by Hamas fighters on southern Israel.
Ziad Abu Amr, Special Palestinian Authority envoy, told the Council “Granting Palestine full membership at the United Nations will lift some of the historic injustice that succeeding Palestinian generations have been subjected to”.
“It will open wide prospects before a true peace based on justice.”
Ayman Safadi, Jordanian Foreign Minister, sounded in: “There is no security as long as the Israeli injustice continues to deny the humanity of the Palestinian people and the right to life, freedom, dignity, security and statehood.”
The application for membership in the United Nations must first receive a recommendation from the Security Council (meaning at least 9 votes in favor and no veto out of 15 votes) and then be approved by a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly.
The Council will consider a short draft resolution submitted by Algeria recommending that the General Assembly admit the State of Palestine to the United Nations.
But the United States, Israel’s main ally, has not hesitated in the past to use its veto power to protect Israel and has made no secret of its lack of enthusiasm for Palestinian membership in the United Nations. So, this effort seems hopeless.
For Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group, “a US veto is absolutely certain.”
Gawn said he expected Britain and possibly Japan and South Korea to abstain.
The US government has maintained its position since 2011, when the Palestinians first sought membership, that the UN is not a forum for the recognition of a Palestinian state, which should be the result of a peace deal with Israel.
Gilad Erdan, Israel’s UN envoy, slammed the fact that the Council was even reviewing the matter, calling it “immoral” and saying: “Membership in the United Nations is open to all peace-loving states. Peace-loving — what a joke.”
Israel’s government opposes a two-state solution while most of the international community including the United States also back her.
A large number of the UN’s 193 member states (137, according to a Palestinian count) have meanwhile unilaterally recognized a Palestinian state.
The last veto of a resolution for UN membership dates back to 1976, when the US blocked Vietnam’s entry.
