The Palestinian Authority has decided to seek the status of non-member state of
the UN General Assembly, PA officials said Sunday.
The officials said
that PA President Mahmoud Abbas will seek the backing of the Arab League for the
move during a meeting of foreign ministers in Doha, Qatar. The Arab League
foreign ministers were scheduled to meet late Sunday at the request of
Abbas.
“President Abbas has decided to seek the status of non-member of
the UN General Assembly in the wake of Israel’s refusal to accept the two-state
solution and halt construction in the settlements,” said a senior adviser to
Abbas. “We hope that the US administration won’t try to block our
effort.”
The official also voiced hope that the Arab ministers meeting in
Doha would approve of the membership bid at the UN.
The US administration
has expressed strong opposition to Abbas’s plan to return to the UN,
particularly as the presidential election approaches, another Palestinian
official told The Jerusalem Post.
The official said that Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton, who met recently with Abbas, warned him that a renewed PA
bid at the UN would prompt Washington to cut off financial aid to the
Palestinians.
But the Palestinians, according to the official, believe
that because of the upcoming US election, this is the right time to resume
efforts to seek membership.
Abbas, who visited Cairo last week, told
Egyptian newspaper editors that he was determined to seek UN recognition despite
US opposition.
He said that he would consult first with the Arab
countries before setting a date for applying to the UN.
Abbas predicted
that 133 countries would vote in favor of the PA application. He said that once
Palestine becomes a non-member state of the UN, it will be an entity under
Israeli occupation and the territories that were occupied in 1967 would no
longer be considered disputed lands.
The Arab ministers are also expected
to discuss the severe financial crisis facing the PA.
Abbas, according to
his advisers, will urge the Arab countries to fulfill their financial pledges to
the Palestinians.
Last week, Saudi Arabia transferred $100 million in
emergency aid to the PA, allowing it to pay half-salaries to more than 150,000
public sector employees.