Palestinians make fresh bid for UN membership. US says peace with Israel must come first
- Palestinian Authority asks for renewed consideration of a 2011 application to become a full member of the United Nations
- The US, Israel’s most important ally, says Palestinians should seek statehood through direct talks, not at the UN
The Palestinians want the Security Council to vote later this month on their revived request for full membership in the United Nations, despite the United States reiterating that Israel and the Palestinians must first negotiate a peace agreement.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, said 140 countries recognise the state of Palestine, and “we believe it is high time now for our state to become a full member at the United Nations”.
The Palestinians are making a fresh bid for UN membership as the war between Israel and Hamas that began October 7 nears its sixth month, putting the unresolved decades-old Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the spotlight after years on the back burner.
During the Cold War between the former Soviet Union and the United States, Mansour said, countries were blocked from joining the UN, but they all eventually became members, including North Korea.
The US doesn’t recognise North Korea but didn’t block its admission, he said, and asked why conditions should be placed on Palestinian membership.