The Palestinian Authority wants the UN Security Council to vote later this month on its revived request for full membership in the United Nations, despite the United States’ objection to the move, The Associated Press reported.
Riyad Mansour, the PA’s UN envoy, said earlier this week that the PA is seeking a UN Security Council vote on April 18 on a motion to make it a full member of the UN.
An application to become a full UN member needs to be approved by the 15-member UN Security Council - where the United States can cast a veto - and then at least two-thirds of the 193-member General Assembly.
Asked on Wednesday if the US would use its Security Council veto to block the PA’s bid, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller replied, "I'm not going to speculate about what may happen down the road."
He added, however, that the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel "is something that should be done through direct negotiations between the parties - it's something we are pursuing at this time - and not at the United Nations."
Mansour later said that 140 countries recognize “the state of Palestine”, and “we believe it is high time now for our state to become a full member at the United Nations.”
Mansour, who had asked the Security Council on Tuesday to consider during April the PA’s renewed application for membership, told several journalists on Wednesday that he expects the council’s Standing Committee on New Members, which includes all 15 council nations, to meet behind closed doors to consider the application before the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on April 9.
He added said it is the Palestinian Arabs' “natural and legal right” to seek full UN membership and declared, “Let the process unfold.”
In November of 2012, the United Nations passed a resolution recognizing “Palestine” as a non-member observer state.
Since that time, the PA has several times said it will aim for full membership in the UN.
The US in 2022 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.