Palestinian Bid for UN Full Membership to Be Submitted by Abbas on September 23, 2011

Palestinian bid for UN to be submitted on Sept. 23

RAMALLAH, Sept. 15, 2011 (Xinhua) --

The Palestinian request for a full membership would be submitted to the United Nations Security Council after Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the international organization on Sept. 23, the Palestinian Foreign Minister said Thursday.

After Abbas' address, he will go to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to present him with the Palestinian request, said Foreign Minister Riad al-Maliki in an interview with official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Abbas' speech would be delivered to the UN General Assembly in New York, but the request to be a member of the UN would be given to the Security Council so the Palestinian would get full membership, al-Maliki added.

The United States hinted at using veto to block the Palestinian bid, saying that the Palestinian state should come through a negotiated agreement with Israel.

Al-Maliki said the Palestinian would go to the Security Council despite the possible U.S. veto, noting that the Palestinians appreciate support from Arab countries, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Non-Aligned Movement, most of South American states and the African Union.

But the Palestinians still do not know the position of the European Union, Al-Maliki said, adding that the EU foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton was leading an effort to put proposals and visions to prevent any crisis or tension among the parties at the United Nations.

He affirmed that the Palestinians are determined to turn to the UN, regardless any compromise or offers.

Editor: Yamei Wang

Erekat: "September Bid Aims At Obtaining Full UN-membership, Not Independence"

Thursday September 15, 2011 08:37 by Alaa Ashkar - IMEMC & Agencies

Chief Palestinian negotiator, Dr. Saeb Erekat, stated Thursday that there is a misunderstanding of the goals behind the Palestinian UN recognition bid, the Palestine News Agency (WAFA) reported Thursday.

“It seems that there is a misunderstanding regarding the aim of the September bid, as independence had been announced in Algeria in 1988", Erekat told reporters at a political symposium in the city of Ramallah, "The bid also does not involve obtaining recognition from the UN, but world countries recognition of Palestine, and legitimate rights”.

He added that “The Palestinian bid aims at obtaining a full membership at the United Nations based on establishing a Palestinian State in the borders of 1967, with Jerusalem as its capital.”

He pointed out that Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, and as the head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), will send a letter to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, and the head of the UN Security Council.

Erekat added that this step is just the beginning of a long way towards Palestinian statehood. The September bid does not aim at delegitimizing any state, but to delegitimize and Isolate the Israeli Occupation.

“The Palestinian-UN bid is part of a strategy based on establishing a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders and changing the status-qua,” he said.

Erekat warned of the Israeli Army decision 1650 that aims at abandoning the army's responsibilities in the Occupied Territories.The move would lead to escalating attacks by the settlers, and further deterioration

He also presented some examples of countries that took long time to achieve a full membership at the UN, such as Macedonia, Japan and Jordan.

“Anyone who believes in the importance of peace and the two-state solution, must support our bid at UN” he told reporters.

Moreover, Erekat said the training and preparation of the Palestinian security forces is a right step towards marinating the security in Palestine, under a government that includes multiple parties

“If the UN recognizes a Palestinian state, I don’t think that settlements and Israeli violations will be removed immediately. However, the difference is that Palestine will be a state occupied by another UN member state". The Palestinian official added, "Final status negotiations will be conducted through a clear timetable for Israeli withdrawal, and the Palestinian self-determination. Additionally, negotiations over prisoners and refugees will be more effective this way”.

Palestinian security services spokesman, Adnan Ad-Damiri, stated that the security forces are on standby and ready to perform their duties once a Palestinian state is established.

“Statehood is the basis of world peace and counter-terrorism activities" Erekat elaborated, “Without any fair solution for the Palestinian cause, there will be no stability all over the world”.

“Israel is trying to drag us into violence to get out of its political and diplomatic crisis" he added.

Abbas vows "no retreat" from Palestine UN bid

Ma'an, September 15, 2011

RAMALLAH (Reuters) -

President Mahmoud Abbas vowed "no retreat" from plans to seek full UN membership for a Palestinian state next week, despite a last minute diplomatic push from the United States and European Union to dissuade him.

"Going to the United Nations to request full membership for Palestine in the international organization is an inevitable thing and there is no retreat from it," the official agency WAFA quoted Abbas as saying in an Egyptian TV interview on Wednesday.

"Despite the pressures exercised on us, Palestine will go to the United Nations on the 23rd of the current month to request full membership," he added. Abbas is scheduled to address the General Assembly on that day.

Washington wants the Palestinians to drop their plan to declare an independent state, arguing that Palestinian independence should be the result of peace talks with Israel.

The Palestinians say US-backed peace talks are frozen, leaving them no choice but to take their case for a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem to the United Nations. The territories were occupied by Israel in a 1967 war.

US Middle East peace envoy David Hale and senior White House aide Dennis Ross, who met Israeli and Palestinian leaders last week, were due to meet Abbas on Thursday.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton extended a Middle East trip on Wednesday to hold more talks aimed at averting the UN bid, EU officials said.

Israel is strongly opposed to the Palestinian UN bid, which it sees as an attempt to isolate it and undermine its own legitimacy. Washington says the move is unhelpful to its Middle East diplomacy and has pledged to use its Security Council veto to block the request for full membership.

Anticipating that outcome, Palestinian officials have indicated they could table a resolution in the General Assembly that would upgrade their status to a "non-member state" from an "entity."

Speaking about that option, Abbas cited benefits including the access it would give the Palestinians to the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.

"This is what Israel and America do not want," he said.

The last round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down almost a year ago because of a dispute over the expansion of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Abbas reiterated his previous conditions for a resumption of negotiations, including a complete halt to settlement building and terms of reference saying that the basis for the Palestinian state be the territories occupied in 1967.

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