Palestinian Authority formally requests full UN membership

The Palestinian Authority has once again formally requested to become a full member of the United Nations.

In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday, the Palestinian permanent observer mission to the UN announced the submission of the request. The letter, signed by Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour, seeks renewed consideration of the Palestinian application for full membership, originally submitted in 2011, to be resubmitted to the Security Council in April.

The Palestinian Authority attempted to apply for full UN membership in September 2011 but was unable to secure the nine votes required in the influential 15-nation council.bThe application had been threatened with a veto by the US.

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The United States and other Western nations had issued warnings that prior accords supporting talks between Israel and the Palestinians to create a state of Palestine that coexists peacefully with Israel would be nullified should the UN recognize a Palestinian state.

The United States, which does not have a veto power in the UN, opposed giving Palestine “non-member observer State status,” but in 2012, the UN General Assembly voted 138–9, with 41 abstentions.

Out of the 193 member states of the United Nations, 139 have officially recognized Palestine as an independent state. Notably, Germany and the United States are not among those countries that have extended recognition to Palestine.

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