The chances that the Palestinian request for statehood could be nipped in the bud seemed to improve over the weekend as three crucial members of the U.N. Security Council indicated that they would not, in fact, support the bid. On Thursday, the U.N. Security Council's subcommittee handling admittance of new member states convened for yet another meeting on the Palestinian application for statehood. The New York Times reported that same day that diplomats privy to the deliberations now believe the Palestinian request is even less likely to gain approval in light of mounting opposition to the membership request. In September, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas officially submitted a request to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to have the Palestinian delegation to the U.N. upgraded to that of a full member state. The U.S. has already said that it would veto the Palestinian request should it come up for a vote, as it considers unilateral actions damaging to the peace process. But the Palestinians can still choose to have their request voted on by the U.N. General Assembly, where it is all but certain to win a majority. The Palestinian permanent mission in the U.N. would then be upgraded to that of a non-member observer state, like that of the Vatican. But it appears that in light of the direction that votes are trending among Security Council members, the Palestinians might now try to delay a vote on their request. In recent days three European countries whom the Palestinians had been banking on for their support in the Security Council - France, the U.K. and Bosnia - have all indicated that they would abstain when the bid comes up for a vote. This would make it impossible for the Palestinians to garner the nine votes necessary for a majority, although a U.S. veto would, in any event, make the vote nothing more than a symbolic victory. In a briefing to representatives from the U.N. Security Council, which must first approve any membership requests before they can become official, the subcommittee said its members were unable to come to a consensus on whether or not to issue a statement of support for the statehood request. The subcommittee further said their report will only generally state that several member states support the Palestinian bid while others oppose it. The Security Council is expected to discuss the report on Friday and there is a possibility they will vote on the issue. Israeli sources at the U.N. also share the consensus that the Palestinians have yet to marshal the necessary number of Security Council member states to their side. However, the Palestinians still believe there is time to sway more votes, sources at Israel's permanent mission cautioned over the weekend. In a surprise development, Ban himself became the latest to speak out against the admission of "Palestine" to UNESCO last week, in what is being seen as the first in a series of attempts to join U.N. institutions without first being admitted as a member state. Last week the U.S. threatened to cut off funding to UNESCO if it does not reverse its decision, and now Ban has issued a statement agreeing with the U.S. "The Palestinian effort is not beneficial for 'Palestine' and not beneficial for anybody," Ban said in an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday. "This will have implications for all the agencies of the United Nations," he warned, presumably referring to funds that might now be withheld from the body. Meanwhile, Abbas told representatives of prisoners released to the West Bank as part last month's prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas that he would see that they will each receive a government-funded apartment. Several hundred Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails last month in exchange for the release of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Many of those prisoners were released to the West Bank.
Fatal blow looming for Palestinian UN membership bid
France, the U.K. and Bosnia say they would abstain if Palestinian statehood bid comes up for a Security Council vote • Palestinian Authority president says released swap deal prisoners would be granted state-funded apartments.
Load more...