The Palestinians are currently a non-member observer state, a de facto recognition of statehood that was granted by the 193-member UN General Assembly in 2012.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has expressed his country’s support for Palestine’s bid for full membership at the United Nations.
The UN Security Council is scheduled to vote on Thursday on a draft resolution that recommends that Palestine become a full member of the UN.
At a press conference on Thursday, the foreign ministry spokesperson, Lian Jian, relayed that the Minister had said that “China supports the UN Security Council in holding discussions as soon as possible and accepting Palestine as a full UN member state.”
Jian was responding to a question on whether there was any specific discussion on the “Middle East situation” and support for Palestine’s UN bid during Wang Yi’s meeting with the Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
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“China calls for a more broad-based, more authoritative, and more effective international peace conference to work out a timetable and roadmap for the two-state solution,” the spokesperson said.
He also said the Wang YI had expressed concern for the humanitarian situation in Gaza, saying that “a humanitarian aid mechanism should be established as soon as possible to ensure the rapid, safe, unimpeded and sustained access to humanitarian supplies for Gaza.”
The resolution requires nine votes in favor to pass with a condition that none of the five permanent members – the US, the UK, France, Russia and China – votes against.
The US will however likely veto it.
The Palestinians are currently a non-member observer state, a de facto recognition of statehood that was granted by the 193-member UN General Assembly in 2012.
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Arab Group’s Support
On Tuesday the Arab Group, under the chairmanship of Saudi Arabia, expressed “its unwavering support for the State of Palestine’s application for full membership in the United Nations.”
“This is a long-overdue step that should have been taken not just in 2022, but since 1948,” the statement said.
The group called on “all members of the Security Council” to vote in favor of the draft resolution. “At the very least, we implore Council members not to obstruct this critical initiative.”
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The statement further said that UN membership “is a crucial step in the right direction towards a just and lasting resolution of the Palestinian question in line with international law and relevant UN resolutions.”
The group said it is “high time” that the Palestinian people “are fully empowered to exercise all their legitimate rights on the global stage as an important step towards promoting the rights of the Palestinian people and the realization of the international consensus on the two-State solution on the 4 June 1967 lines.”
In 2011, Palestine submitted a bid to become a full UN member but failed to secure the required support from Security Council members.
‘Global Consensus’
However, Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour announced on April 2 that he had sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres requesting that their membership application be reconsidered.
On April 8, the UN Security Council’s president referred the Palestinian Authority’s application to become a full member of the world body to its committee on the admission of new members.
“We sincerely hope after 12 years since we change our status to an observer state, that the Security Council will elevate itself to implementing the global consensus on the two state solution by admitting the state of Palestine for full membership,” Mansour told reporters after a meeting held to consider the request.
(PC, Anadolu)
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