Ahmed Attaf, Algeria’s Foreign Minister, has stated that time for a two-state solution is running out.
This came as the United Nations Security Council held debate on Middle East and Palestinian bid for full UN membership.
“The two-state solution is facing imminent mortal danger. We must save this solution before it’s too late, which means granting the status of full membership to the state of Palestine to safeguard peace,” Attaf told members of the Security Council.
“Any hesitation will have disastrous consequences and would give a green light to the Israeli occupation to continue with its plan of stealing,” Attaf said.
Ziad Abu Amr, the Palestinian representative to the UN, opined that granting Palestinians a sovereign state will pave the way for “true peace based on justice.”
He said that peace would be greatly beneficial to the entire region, stressing that the Palestinian leadership has always supported a diplomatic solution.
“How could this recognition and this membership harm international peace and security?,” he asked members of the UNSC.
“Such a decision to grant full membership would be an important pillar to reach peace because the Israeli-Palestinian conflict now goes beyond the border of Palestine and Israel and impacts other regions in the Middle East and the world.
“So we believe that it’s high time for the Security Council to shoulder its historic responsibility and give justice to the Palestinian people to adopt a resolution to accept Palestine as a full member of the UN.”
Ziad Abu-Amr
He added, “Those who are trying to disrupt the adoption of such a resolution, they are not helping the prospect of peace.”
Russian Foreign Minister, Vassily Nebenzia also spoke in favour of granting Palestine full membership to the UNSC.
“Recognising Palestine will help in the long term to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Nebenzia said.
He also slammed a comment by Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan who said Palestinians fail to meet the criteria to become a full UN member, which he outlined as a permanent population, defined territory, government, and capacity to enter relations with other states.
Nebenzia said that Israel did not meet those requirements in 1949, yet it was admitted to the UN.
Israel Rejects Resolution To Grant Palestine Full Membership To UN
Gilad Erdan, the Israeli representative to the UN Security Council, strongly rejected the resolution to grant Palestine full membership to the UN.
He stated that this resolution would “have zero positive impact for any party, would cause only destructions for the years to come and harm any chance for future dialogue.”
Erdan said that the Palestinian Authority has no control over Gaza and no authority across the occupied West Bank.
He went on to accuse the Palestinian leadership of seeking full membership in the UN for “political interests.”
The Security Council (UNSC) is due to vote on a Palestinian bid for full UN membership at later on Thursday.
A council resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the US, Britain, France, Russia or China to pass. Diplomats say that the measure could have the support of up to 13 council members, which would force the US to use its veto.
If the application passes at the UNSC, it will then move to the UN General Assembly (UNGA), the main policy-making organ of the UN, where it needs a two-thirds majority to be approved.
A country cannot join the UN as a member state unless both the Security Council and General Assembly approve.
The Palestinian application, however, will likely face a much easier ride at the UNGA than the UNSC, as more than two-thirds of the General Assembly recognise Palestine as a state.
And unlike the UNSC, no nation has a veto to overrule the majority in the UNGA.
READ ALSO: Ghana’s Performance Tracker: A Double-Edged Sword for the Government
