The U.N. Security Council has revived the Palestinian Authority’s hopes of joining the United Nations as a full member. However, the United States has expressed concerns that relations between Israel and the Palestinians are not yet ripe for such a move. The U.S. is one of five permanent members of the council who can veto any action, and it believes that the Palestinian Authority needs to exert control over all Palestinian territories and negotiate statehood with Israel before achieving statehood. The Palestinian Authority currently administers parts of the West Bank but has no power in Gaza after Hamas seized control in 2007.
After years of failed peace talks, the Palestinians have turned to the United Nations to pursue their dream of an independent state. Israel views these efforts as attempts to circumvent the negotiating process and has a right-wing government dominated by hard-liners who oppose Palestinian statehood. Supporters of the Palestinians’ request for full membership in the U.N. argue that the unresolved conflict between Israel and Palestine has come back into the spotlight after years of being on the back burner, especially with the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
The U.N. Security Council is set to make a formal decision on Palestinian U.N. membership this month, with a committee that weighs membership applications meeting again soon. Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour has hailed this as a historic moment, reminiscent of when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas submitted the application to become the 194th U.N. member back in 2011. Israel’s U.N. ambassador, on the other hand, has dismissed the possibility of Palestinian statehood and reduced the issue to a question of his country’s survival, alleging that the Palestinians’ goal has always been the annihilation of the Jewish people.
The renewed push for Palestinian U.N. membership comes as tensions in the region remain high and the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues. The Security Council’s decision to reconsider the Palestinian membership application has reignited debate over the issue among member states. The U.S. delegation has stressed the need for both Israel and the Palestinians to negotiate directly and ensure that all territories are under Palestinian control before any decisions regarding statehood can be made. The coming weeks will be crucial in determining the outcome of the Palestinian Authority’s bid for full U.N. membership and the future of the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
