The Palestinian Authority (PA) has submitted a draft resolution to the UN General Assembly asking for upgrading of Palestine’s status at the UN to “observer state” from “observer entity.”
The acting PA Chief, Mahmoud Abbas sent the 316-worded resolution late Monday, ahead of his departure to New York to attend the General Assembly, which would vote on the bid on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
Palestinians need a majority vote from the assembly’s 193 members to win the bid and currently as many as 130 nations, which already recognize Palestine as a sovereign state, are in favor of the upgrade.
The PA cites Israel’s continued aggression against Palestinians and Tel Aviv’s settlement activities on the Occupied Palestinian Territories as the major reasons for its push for the upgrade.
The Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas has thrown its weight behind Abbas and welcomed the “step of going to the United Nations for state observer status.”
The observer state status will grant Palestinians access to UN agencies and the International Criminal Court where they could file complaints against Israel.
On Sunday, Abbas said he was “fully confident” that Palestinians could win the majority vote and secure the upgrade.
The United States and Israel, however, have spared no means for the past two years to stymie the Palestinians’ efforts towards upgrading Palestine’s status at the UN, arguing that it is only through negotiations with Israel that Palestinian statehood ambitions can yield.
The US blocked Palestine’s full membership bid at the UN Security Council last year, using its veto power.
In 2010, Israel broke down the talks after refusing to extend a moratorium on its settlement activities on the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The draft reportedly calls for the resumption of the talks with Israel following the UN vote on the upgrade.
[http://presstv.com/detail/
The acting PA Chief, Mahmoud Abbas sent the 316-worded resolution late Monday, ahead of his departure to New York to attend the General Assembly, which would vote on the bid on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
Palestinians need a majority vote from the assembly’s 193 members to win the bid and currently as many as 130 nations, which already recognize Palestine as a sovereign state, are in favor of the upgrade.
The PA cites Israel’s continued aggression against Palestinians and Tel Aviv’s settlement activities on the Occupied Palestinian Territories as the major reasons for its push for the upgrade.
The Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas has thrown its weight behind Abbas and welcomed the “step of going to the United Nations for state observer status.”
The observer state status will grant Palestinians access to UN agencies and the International Criminal Court where they could file complaints against Israel.
On Sunday, Abbas said he was “fully confident” that Palestinians could win the majority vote and secure the upgrade.
The United States and Israel, however, have spared no means for the past two years to stymie the Palestinians’ efforts towards upgrading Palestine’s status at the UN, arguing that it is only through negotiations with Israel that Palestinian statehood ambitions can yield.
The US blocked Palestine’s full membership bid at the UN Security Council last year, using its veto power.
In 2010, Israel broke down the talks after refusing to extend a moratorium on its settlement activities on the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The draft reportedly calls for the resumption of the talks with Israel following the UN vote on the upgrade.
[http://presstv.com/detail/
No comments:
Post a Comment