Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu asked Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev for assistance in gaining acceptance for Israel's candidacy to become a rotating member of the UN Security Council in 2019 .
"We helped you get accepted as a member of the Security Council and now we are asking you to help us be a member of the Council as well," Netanyahu said, referring to Kazakhstan's successful bid for a Security Council seat, which it will assume in January, 2017.
"Now if you want to see real change in the world, imagine the State of Israel on the UN Security Council." Netanyahu continued. "I believe that this change, which [could] take place in 2019, is entirely possible, and with your help we will be able to achieve it."
The 15 member Security Council has 5 permanent member states, the US, Russia, Great Britain, France, and China. The remaining 10 memberships rotates in two-year terms.
Israel is applying for one of two open positions for the Western European and Other Group (WEOG), which it was admitted to in 2000. Israel hopes to be a member of the Council for the 2019-2020 term. It has begun conducting an international campaign to increase support for its bid.
Israel's rivals for the the two available seats are Germany, France, and Belgium. Voting for the seats will take place in 2018.
According to the UN, the Security Council is responsible for the "maintenance of international peace and security."
Israel has never served on the Security Council despite having been a member of the UN for over six decades.