The UN General Assembly urges recognition of Palestinian statehood.
At the United Nations General Assembly, there's a significant support for resolutions that either criticize Israel or advocate for Palestine. Recently, a decision was made by a massive majority to accept Palestine as a full member. But, the USA's veto in the Security Council is what determines the fate of this proposal.
Regardless of its symbolic significance, the UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly voted in favor of accepting Palestine into the United Nations. A whopping 143 nations cast their vote in support of a resolution that would grant Palestine extra privileges beyond their current observer status. In contrast, 9 countries opted against it, while 25 nations, including Germany, chose to abstain. Israel's partner, the United States, turned down this motion.
This move doesn't result in Palestine immediately becoming a member, as Washington is using its veto power in the Security Council to block Palestine's full membership in that body. This has been done recently in April. The current U.S. administration supports the idea of a two-state solution to the Middle Eastern conflict, which would involve an independent Palestinian state coexisting peacefully with Israel. However, the U.S. government will not consent to Palestine's admission into the UN, claiming that the UN is not the ideal platform for recognizing a Palestinian state. Instead, it believes that a Palestinian state should emerge from an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
The UN General Assembly's vote was seen as a reflection of global sentiment on the recent developments in the Middle Eastern conflict, especially the Gaza war. There's a clear majority in the UN in favor of anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian resolutions. The General Assembly doesn't have a veto right. However, this pro-Palestinian majority adds more pressure on the U.S. due to increasing criticism against Israel's handling of the Gaza Strip war.
Acting Like a Regular Member
Following the vote in the UN General Assembly, Palestinian representatives can now carry out tasks similar to those carried out by regular members. They're allowed to speak on topics that aren't connected to the Middle East conflict, submit amendments to resolutions, introduce new agenda items, and exercise other functions within the plenary.
To join the United Nations, a new nation needs the approval of the 15-member Security Council first. Once given, the application then needs to be supported by a two-thirds majority vote from the General Assembly.
A substantial portion of the 193 UN member nations, approximately 137, acknowledge the existence of a Palestinian state. Germany is among the nations that don't recognize a Palestinian state, but still maintain diplomatic ties with the Palestinian territories.
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The USA, being a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has consistently used its veto power to block Palestine's full membership in the United Nations, as evident in the recent veto in April. Despite this, the UN General Assembly's vote for Palestinian statehood has given Palestinian representatives the ability to perform tasks akin to those of regular members, such as speaking on unrelated topics and introducing new agenda items.
Source: www.ntv.de
