UN General Assembly is expected to vote today on Palestinian membership

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly may reconsider today whether Palestine may become a full member of the UN. A few weeks ago, a proposal to this effect was blocked by a veto by the United States in the UN Security Council. Foreign commentator Bernard Hammelburg expects this to remain the case even after a vote in the General Assembly.

Palestine is currently an observer member of the UN, but the Palestinians want to become full members. In April, the UN Security Council voted down this proposal through a US veto. Approval from the UN Security Council is needed to make Palestine a full member.

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The General Assembly acknowledges that the UN has rejected the proposal, but will still vote on the issue itself, Hammelburg explains. The assembly consists of 193 countries, of which approximately 130 countries are pro-Palestinian. “A resolution will undoubtedly be adopted there to make Palestine a full member,” says Hammelburg. Countries cannot use a veto at the General Assembly. There will then follow a request for the UN Security Council to reconsider their recent vote.

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Hammelburg expects that this will not make much difference, because an agreement from the UN Security Council is necessary to make Palestine a full member. The United States is not against the independence of Palestine, but states that this is only possible in the context of peace negotiations. In addition, the US currently considers it too unclear what the borders of Palestine are. According to the official definition, Palestine consists of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. But the current conflict in the region leads to uncertainty.

Palestine

According to Irish media, Spain and Ireland will recognize Palestine as a state on May 21. Slovenia has also decided to join. The EU has the same position as the US on this. It is of political significance that these EU member states now want to move away from this, Hammelburg believes. Other EU member states have also recognized Palestine as a state, such as Poland and the Czech Republic, but they did this before they were members of the EU.