Palestinian Authority (PA) cabinet leader Mohammad Shtayyeh on Wednesday called on the United States not to block the PA’s bid for full membership in the United Nations, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Shtayyeh made the remarks during a meeting in Ramallah with Hady Amr, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs.
"We seek to move the political file again by requesting full membership in the UN in the absence of political initiatives to solve the Palestinian cause," Shtayyeh said, calling on the US "not to disrupt that endeavor."
"It is necessary to bring the promises of the US administration regarding Palestine into effect and to support the Palestinian approach to request a full UN membership," he was quoted as saying.
Last week, the PA Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour confirmed that the PA has officially renewed its push for full membership in the United Nations and has turned to the Security Council on the matter.
"We are negotiating in good faith with all [UNSC] members," he told reporters in New York, adding, "There is cautious optimism in the atmosphere."
Last week, US and PA sources told Barak Ravid of Axios that the Biden administration has urged the PA not to pursue a vote at the UN Security Council on gaining full UN membership, stressing it will likely veto any such move.
In 2012, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of the “state of Palestine” when it upgraded the PA’s UN observer status to non-member state.
The PA previously announced in 2019 it would launch a bid to become a full member of the United Nations.
Two weeks later, however, Mansour announced the PA was dropping its bid to become a full member of the UN, likely due to the fact that US would more than likely have vetoed any Security Council resolution granting the PA full membership of the global body.