US set to block renewed Palestinian effort to become UN member state

Despite differences of opinion with Israel, US continues standing policy

The Biden administration is set to block the latest Palestinian effort to be recognized as a full member state at the United Nations, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

“We have always made clear that, while we support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state… that is something that should be done through direct negotiations through the parties — something we are pursuing at this time — and not at the United Nations,” State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller stated.

Last Tuesday, the Palestinian representative at the UN, Riyad Mansour, submitted a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, requesting a Security Council vote over the issue on April 18.

“We are seeking admission. That is our natural and legal right,” Ambassador Mansour said on Wednesday.

“Everyone is saying ‘two-state solution,’ then what is the logic of denying us to become a member state?” he added.

Despite reports that U.S. officials were working on a “comprehensive plan for long-term peace… including a firm timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state,” the U.S. is expected to use its veto in the Security Council (UNSC)

The Israeli government and Knesset rejected unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state by other nations with large majorities following the reports.

The American government is bound by law to stop funding UN agencies that recognize Palestine as a full member state, a law that has been applied selectively in the past.

Deputy representative to the UN, Robert Wood, said that recognition would mean “funding would be cut off to the UN system, so we’re bound by US law.”

“Our hope is that they don’t pursue that, but that’s up to them,” he added.

UN Ambassador of Malta Vanessa Frazier, who is serving as the UNSC president for the month of April, said the Palestinian request had been forwarded to all council members.

“We will be consulting with each member to consider the appropriate way forward,” Frazier told reporters.

A letter to the council president was signed by 140 nations that recognized a Palestinian state, including the 22 members of the Arab Group at the UN, the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the 120 members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

The first bid for recognition of statehood was launched by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in 2011. With a two-thirds majority, the General Assembly gave “the State of Palestine” the status of a non-member observer state in 2012, however, it was not granted.