Palestine presents fresh request for full UN membership

The Palestinian Authority has again requested to become a full member of the United Nations, according to a Tuesday letter addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

“Today, the State of Palestine, and upon instructions of the Palestinian leadership, sent a letter (to) the Secretary-General requesting renewed consideration to (our) membership application,” read a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, from the Palestinian permanent observer mission to the UN on Tuesday.

The post included a letter, signed by Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour, requesting that a 2011 Palestinian application for full membership be resubmitted to the Security Council in April.

The Palestinian Authority in September 2011 submitted an application for full UN membership but failed to obtain the nine votes necessary to pass it in the powerful 15-nation council.

The U.S. had threatened to veto the application.

The U.S. and other Western powers had warned that UN recognition of a Palestinian state would void previous agreements that support negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians to establish a Palestinian state living in peace next to Israel.

In 2012, the UN General Assembly voted 138-9, with 41 abstentions, to give Palestine “non-member observer state status” despite opposition from the U.S., which has no veto power there.

Of the 193 UN member states, 139 have so far recognised Palestine as an independent state. Germany and the U.S. are not among them.

(dpa/NAN)