Members of the United Nations Security Council failed to reach consensus yesterday on the Palestinian bid for full membership in the United Nations, as announced by the council president.
In September 2011, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas initiated the process, requesting Palestine’s accession to the United Nations. Although this initiative did not materialize, Palestinians were granted non-member observer state status in November 2012.
Last week, the Palestinian side revived their membership request in a letter addressed to the Security Council, which began its review process last Monday.
In yesterday’s second closed meeting of the Committee on New Member Admissions, there was no consensus, according to Maltese Ambassador Vanessa Frazer, who chaired the Security Council in April.
She noted that two-thirds of the Council members support full membership for Palestinians, without specifying them. However, this committee cannot make decisions without consensus.
Nevertheless, this does not mark the end of the Palestinian move. After the committee’s report, any member state of the Council can propose a vote on this accession.
According to diplomatic sources, a vote could be held on April 18, initiated by the Arab group.
The Maltese ambassador hinted that such a decision would require 9 out of 15 votes, but observers doubt the initiative will pass in the Council due to the United States’ stance, which previously opposed this direction in 2011.
Deputy US Ambassador Robert Wood reiterated last Monday that the US position has not changed, emphasizing that recognition of a Palestinian state should occur within an agreement with Israel, not at the UN.
He stressed that the United States is bound by US law, which stipulates that if the Security Council approves the accession of a Palestinian state outside a bilateral agreement, then funding for the United Nations must be cut off.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour stated this week: All we ask is to take our rightful place in the international community, expressing hope for a Security Council vote on April 18.
Meanwhile, the Security Council expressed grave concern over Israel’s killing of seven relief workers from the World Central Kitchen in Gaza.
In a press release on the official UN website, it was stated that these horrific attacks raised the death toll among humanitarian workers in Gaza during the ongoing conflict to at least 224, more than three times the number of humanitarian workers killed in any single conflict recorded in one year.
Council members emphasized the need for accountability for all these incidents and pointed out that Israel has announced preliminary findings of the investigation into the incident, stressing the need for a comprehensive, transparent, and full investigation into the incident and its full disclosure.
