Palestine bids for UN membership

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Published on Wednesday, 12 October 2011 19:37

Written by Michelle October

The UN Security Council has begun consultations concerning Palestine’s bid for UN membership, Al Jazeera reported last week.

The bid comes in an attempt to establish Palestine as an independent state, and thus invigorate peace talks between Israel and Palestinian representative groups.

Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, submitted the bid on 23 September this year, saying it is the Palestinian people’s last resort to fruitful peace negotiations.

The US, a devout Israel ally, has already threatened to exercise its veto power should it come to a vote. The US says that the bid would only hinder peace talks between Israel and Palestine and a two-state ultimate objective. US President Barack Obama was reported as saying, "If this came to the Security Council we would object very strongly, precisely because we think it would be counterproductive."

The US is currently in negotiations with other states to persuade them to abstain or vote against Palestine’s bid, in the event of a vote, which would prevent the US from exercising a potentially embarrassing veto.

A council of 15 member nations are deciding how the bid should be dealt with and once a decision is made, the bid will be handed over to a recommending committee.

In order for the bid to pass, a total of nine member states have to vote in favour of it. Thus far, six states have come out in support of the bid, while seven have not yet stated their allegiance. Colombia stated it will abstain from the vote.

The European Union, however, remains divided as to who will vote in favour of the bid. The New York Times reported that the authority will be severely questioned across the Middle East should each state in the EU vote differently.

At present, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland, among others, stand either to abstain or vote against the resolution. France, Spain and Britain show signs of voting in favour of the bid.

The EU has invested economic interests in Palestine, providing up to €1 billion in aid. Since the Arab Spring revolts, the EU has increasingly recognised the need for Palestine to be an independent and recognised state. However, reports state that the US has frozen aid to Palestine in an effort to sway Abbas from the bid.

Israel has slammed the bid saying in a speech to Palestine, "If you want to get to peace, put all your preconditions to the side."