UN receives Palestine's bid to become Member State

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations (UN) on Friday officially received an application from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in order for Palestine to become a UN Member State.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the UN Headquarters in New York received the application from Abbas. Later in the afternoon, Ban submitted the application to the President of the Security Council, as per the provisions of the UN Charter.

"Palestine is being reborn," Abbas told the UN General Assembly's annual general debate as Palestine, which currently has observer status at the UN, applies for full membership of the UN on the basis of the so-called June 4, 1967 borders.

"I call upon Mr. Secretary-General to expedite transmittal of our request to the Security Council, and I call upon the distinguished members of the Security Council to vote in favor of our full membership," Abbas said, hoping it did not have to wait long for the application to be approved. "I also appeal to the States that have not yet done so to recognize the State of Palestine."

Any application is considered by the Council, which decides whether or not to recommend admission to the 193-member General Assembly, which has to adopt a resolution for the admission of any new Member State.

During his address to the Assembly, Abbas also said that Israeli Government policies were responsible "for the continued failure of the successive international attempts to salvage the peace process."

In addition, he cited the construction of settlements in the West Bank, the refusal of permits for Palestinians to build in East Jerusalem, and the extensive number of military checkpoints limiting Palestinian movement and the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip as examples of such policies.

"All of these actions taken by Israel in our country are unilateral actions and are not based on any earlier agreements. Indeed, what we witness is a selective application of the agreements aimed at perpetuating the occupation," Abbas stated.

Over the past two years, Abbas went on, Palestinian authorities have worked hard to implement a program of building up State institutions, as well as strengthening civil society, increasing government accountability and promoting the participation of women in public life.

Meanwhile, the Middle East Quartet – a diplomatic grouping bringing together the UN, the European Union, Russia and the United States – is scheduled to hold a meeting at UN Headquarters to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Saturday, September 24th, 2011

Source: WireUpdate.
Link: http://wireupdate.com/news/un-receives-palestines-bid-to-become-member-state.html.