UN Security Council to vote on full Palestinian UN membership on Friday amid US opposition

The United Nations Security Council is slated to hold a vote on Friday concerning the Palestinian request for full UN membership, amid warnings by diplomats about the possibility of a US veto.

The 15-member council is scheduled to hold a vote on Friday at 3 p.m. (1900 GMT) regarding a draft resolution recommending the admission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, diplomats said.

Malta, the current holder of the rotating presidency of the Security Council, has not yet confirmed the timetable.

For a council resolution to pass, it requires a minimum of nine votes in favor and no vetoes from the US, Britain, France, Russia, or China, the five veto-wielding powers. Thirteen members are reportedly backing the resolution, according to sources, but the United States, a key ally of Israel, is expected to veto the move.

The recognition of Palestine as a state requires approval from the Security Council before it can be presented to the 193-member UN General Assembly.

Council member Algeria, who proposed the draft resolution, had called for a vote on Thursday afternoon to align with a Security Council session on the Middle East, expected to be attended by several ministers, including Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

US says Palestinian statehood should be done through direct negotiations not UN venue

After vowing to block Palestine

US hindering approval of Palestinian UN membership

The US, a staunch opponent of Palestinian statehood, argues that the United Nations is not the place for hashing out the status, which it says should be the result of an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, rather than at the UN.

“We do not see that doing a resolution in the Security Council will necessarily get us to a place where we can find ... a two-state solution moving forward," US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Wednesday.

The Israeli ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, also in a desperate move on Wednesday accused the Security Council of “investing its time in promoting the establishment of a Palestinian terrorist state.”

“If the Security Council decides to recommend full membership for the Palestinian Authority ... it will lose all legitimacy,” Erdan said, accusing the PA of inciting and financing terrorism and having "no control over its territory."

Moreover, The Intercept, an online American news organization on Wednesday revealed that the United States is reported to be secretly pushing members of the UN Security Council into rejecting Palestine’s bid to become a full member of the world body.

The countries being railroaded into rejecting the statehood include Malta, Ecuador and France, according to the report.

On the other side, officials from Spain, Australia and Ireland have separately supported Palestinian statehood and hoped for recognition of the Palestinian statehood in the near-term.

Since 2011, the Security Council has rejected the Palestinian Authority’s request for full member status.

Palestine, recognized as a non-member observer state which is a de facto recognition of statehood, was granted this status by the 193-member UN General Assembly in 2012.

However, in order to become a full UN member, the Palestinian application must first be approved by the Security Council and then by at least two-thirds of the General Assembly.

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