UN Starts Considering Palestine’s UN Bid

The Security Council today starts considering the issue of Palestine’s UN membership bid. Today, members of the Security Council will meet in closed consultations to determine the order of subsequent actions.

Last Friday, the head of the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas handed over his request to recognize Palestine’s independence and to grant it full membership rights to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The White House has repeatedly said it would veto the Palestinian UN membership bid. However, the General Assembly can grant it “observer” status. This will allow the Palestinians to participate in many forums and file lawsuits to the International Criminal Court.

Consideration of the application can take several days.