The Palestinian Authority (PA), the internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people, has taken the first steps in requesting an official vote of approval on its United Nations membership status, a letter from the body’s UN representative revealed on Tuesday.
Based on documents seen by wire service AFP, the PA’s UN liaison, Riyad Mansour, penned a letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on behalf of his government requesting that the Palestinian application for full membership be examined and voted on by the Security Council.
The Palestinians’ bid for full recognition was formally started in 2011 and ended with the PA still gaining official observer status a year later—but not outright voting membership.
Before an application can be voted on by the Security Council, a council committee of 15 members must evaluate the candidate’s appropriateness before the issue can be moved to the Security Council. If the bid is approved with at least nine votes in favor, a recommendation is then sent to the General Assembly for a final vote.
A formal vote on the PA’s application in 2011 never occurred as the issue never made it out of committee. Officials involved in those discussions note that the PA likely lacked the necessary votes and still faced a likely US veto.
Given Hamas’ October 7 attack, Israel’s subsequent invasion of the Gaza Strip, and the devastation consuming the enclave, Mansour contends that now is the time to reapproach full Palestinian member-state status.
A bloc including the League of Arab States, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the Non-Aligned Movement also sent a letter to the UN chief advocating for a vote on Palestinian membership, according to a document seen by AFP.