Members of the UN Security Council failed to reach a consensus on Thursday on a bid by the Palestinian Authority (PA) for full UN membership, meaning the longshot effort is now likely headed for a more formal council vote, AFP reports.
The PA last week revived its UN membership application, prompting the Security Council to launch a formal review process. This included the ad hoc committee that failed to reach consensus Thursday and was composed of the council's member states.
During its closed-door meeting "there was no consensus," said Maltese Ambassador Vanessa Frazier, who holds the council's rotating presidency for April.
However, two-thirds of the members were in favor of full membership, she said, without specifying which countries.
Any request by the PA to become a UN member state must first pass through the Security Council and then be endorsed by the General Assembly.
Asked recently 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."
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.