UN general assembly calls on Security Council to admit Palestine as member

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the United Nations General Assembly's call for the UN Security Council to admit Palestine as a member state.

🙋 Q&A

[01] UN General Assembly's Call for Palestine Membership

1. What did the UN General Assembly do regarding Palestine's membership?

• The UN General Assembly has enhanced Palestine's rights within the organization and called for it to be accepted as a member.
• Palestine currently has non-member observer state status since 2012, which allows some rights short of a full member.
• The General Assembly's vote can be seen as a gesture of support for the Palestinians, even though membership can only be decided by the UN Security Council.

2. How did the Palestinian and Israeli representatives respond to the resolution?

• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the resolution, saying it supported Palestinian efforts for another vote on the issue by the Security Council.
• Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, said the body had welcomed a "terror state" into its ranks and accused members of having metaphorically shredded the UN Charter by passing the resolution.

3. What is the current status of Palestinian statehood recognition?

• In 1988, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) first declared the establishment of the State of Palestine.
• According to Reuters, Palestinian statehood has been recognized by 139 out of 193 UN member states, although this is largely seen as symbolic.
• In practice, the Palestinians have limited self-government through the Palestinian Authority (PA) in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, while the PA lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas in 2007.
• Israel does not recognize Palestinian statehood and the current Israeli government opposes the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.

4. What is the US position on Palestinian statehood?

• The US endorses the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel (the two-state solution), but says such a state should only come through direct negotiations between the two sides.
• The US recently vetoed a bid for Palestine's full UN membership, which the General Assembly's resolution can be seen as a response to.

[02] European Countries' Plans to Recognize Palestinian Statehood

1. What are the reported plans of several European countries regarding Palestinian statehood recognition?

• According to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Spain will recognize a Palestinian state on May 21, and Ireland, Slovenia and Malta will also take this step, though the exact date is not confirmed.