The United Nations General Assembly is expected to support Palestinian efforts for full membership in the organization on Friday, by recognizing eligibility for accession and resending the request to the Security Council "for a positive reconsideration of the matter."
Palestinians have renewed their quest for full United Nations membership, which means practical recognition of a Palestinian state, after the United States used its veto in the Security Council against that effort last month.
The vote, which will be conducted by the 193 member states of the General Assembly on Friday, will serve as a global poll on the support garnered by Palestinians. Typically, a request for full membership requires approval from the Security Council first and then the General Assembly.
Although the General Assembly alone cannot grant full membership in the United Nations, the draft resolution proposed for voting on Friday will grant Palestinians some additional rights and privileges, such as a seat among member states in the Assembly hall, but without the right to vote.
Diplomats say that the wording of the draft resolution is likely to receive the necessary support for its adoption. The Palestinian drive for full United Nations membership comes amid a war waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip for more than seven months, while Israel continues to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank, which the United Nations considers illegal.
Currently, Palestinians have the status of a non-member observer state, recognized as a state by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012. The Palestinian mission to the United Nations in New York stated in a letter to member states on Thursday that the adoption of the draft resolution supporting full membership would be an investment in maintaining the long-standing proposed two-state solution.
It added that it would provide a clear reaffirmation of support for the Palestinian people's right to self-determination at a time it described as critical, including their right to an independent state. The mission is affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, which has limited powers in the occupied West Bank.
The United Nations has long supported the vision of two states living side by side within recognized and secure borders, with Palestinians aiming to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
