UN committee divided on Palestinian bid

Israeli forces arrest a protestor during a weekly demonstration against Israeli-occupation in the northern West Bank village of Kfar Kadum yesterday. The Palestinian leadership is unsure how to advance its bid for UN membership as a state, with the Security Council set to confirm today it is deadlocked over the application, diplomats said.Photo: AFP

A UN Security Council committee yesterday said it had failed to reach agreement over a Palestinian application for full membership in the United Nations, the Portuguese UN ambassador said.
The decision by the council's admissions committee brought the Palestinian Authority's push for UN recognition of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, one step closer to collapse.
It is now up to Palestinians, who have so far been unable to secure the nine votes needed to pass a Security Council resolution favouring their UN bid, to decide whether to call a vote on their application.
The Palestinians currently have only eight supporters, diplomats say. If the Palestinian delegation chooses to force a vote without securing nine votes, the United States would not need to use its veto power to block it.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas applied for full UN membership for the state of Palestine on September 23.
Israel and the United States oppose the Palestinian bid for membership, saying it is aimed at de-legitimising Israel. They say the only way Palestine can get statehood is via peace talks with Israel.