The Palestinian Authority has received a green light from the Arab League to
seek UN recognition of a Palestinian state, PA officials said
Wednesday.
The officials told The Jerusalem Post that no date has been
set for presenting the application to the UN. But one official said that the
application would be presented to the UN “probably before the end of the year.”
He said that the application would include a request for recognition of
Palestine as a non-member state of the UN.
The official voiced confidence
that the PA request would be approved by a vast majority of UN
members.
“We know we have a big majority in the UN that would vote in
favor of Palestinian membership,” the official told the Post.
He denied
reports that the PA was planning to file the request in early September, as
indicated by the Palestinian Foreign Affairs Ministry in Ramallah.
The PA
was forced to abandon another request for UN membership last year after failing
to secure the backing of nine members of the Security Council. The PA says that
the new application will be filed with the General Assembly, where it hopes to
gain the support of at least 130 countries,.
Another PA official said
that the Arab League foreign ministers, who met in Doha, Qatar, last weekend,
declared their backing for PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s intention to seek UN
membership.
The Arab League, the official added, advised Abbas to “assess
all his options” before going to the UN. The Arab ministers told Abbas that they
were concerned that such a move would anger the US administration and prompt
Congress to impose sanctions on the Palestinians, including closing down the PLO
diplomatic mission in Washington.
At the Doha gathering, Abbas complained
that Israel’s policies have damaged the peace process and made it impossible for
him to return to the negotiating table. Abbas also told the Arab ministers that
the US was strongly opposed to his plan to seek unilateral UN recognition of a
Palestinian state.
Abbas also complained about the severe financial
crisis facing the PA government in the West Bank and urged the Arab countries to
provide the Palestinians with emergency financial aid.