UN General Assembly set to support Palestinian bid for membership

The United Nations General Assembly on Friday is set to back a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member by recognizing it as qualified to join and sending the application back to the UN Security Council to "reconsider the matter favorably."

The Palestinians are reviving their bid to become a full UN member - a move that would effectively recognize a Palestinian state - after the United States vetoed it in the 15-member UN Security Council last month.

The vote by the 193-member General Assembly on Friday will act as a global survey of support for the Palestinians. An application to become a full UN member first needs to be approved by the Security Council and then the General Assembly.

But while the General Assembly alone cannot grant full UN membership, the draft resolution being put to a vote on Friday will give the Palestinians some additional rights and privileges from September 2024 - like a seat among the UN members in the assembly hall - but it will not be granted a vote in the body.

Diplomats said the draft text is likely to get the support needed to be adopted.

The Palestinian UN mission in New York said on Thursday - in a letter to UN member states - that adoption of the draft resolution backing full UN membership would be an investment in preserving the long-sought-for two-state solution.

It said it would "constitute a clear reaffirmation of support at this very critical moment for the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State."

Reuters