UNSC c'tee fails to reach agreement on PA statehood bid

Portuguese UN ambassador says Security Council receives report on Palestinian Authority application for full UN membership and will discuss any future initiative; decision harms PA push for UN recognition.

By REUTERS
UN Security Council_311 (photo credit: Reuters)
UN Security Council_311
(photo credit: Reuters)
UNITED NATIONS - A UN Security Council committee said on Friday it had failed to reach agreement over a Palestinian Authority application for full membership in the United Nations, the Portuguese UN ambassador said.
The decision by the council's admissions committee brought the Palestinian Authority's push for UN recognition of a Palestinian state, one step closer to collapse.RELATED:'France, Britain expected to abstain from PA UNSC vote''We'll change face of Mideast if settlements continue'
It is now up to Palestinian Authority, who have so far been unable to secure the nine votes needed to pass a Security Council resolution favoring their UN bid, to decide whether or not to call a vote on their application.
They currently have only eight supporters, diplomats say. If the Palestinian delegation chooses to force a vote without securing nine votes, the United States would not need to use its veto power to block it.
A draft report of the committee, which includes all 15 council members, detailed the deadlock among council members. Now that the committee has formally approved it, the issue will revert back to the Security Council.
"The Council will receive the report and will discuss any future initiative," said Portuguese envoy Jose Filipe Moraes Cabral, council president for November.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas applied for full UN membership for the state of Palestine on Sept. 23.