The Palestinian bid for United Nations membership and effective statehood recognition is now one week old, but is a final vote in the UN Security Council coming soon? Where does the vote count stand? And what happens if the United States issues a veto? Here’s a step-by-step analysis of where the Palestinian UN membership application is now and where it’s heading: … Continue Reading
Photo Courtesy of UN Photo/Marco Castro
The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday referred the Palestinian application for full UN membership and effective statehood recognition to the Committee on the Admission of New Members, set to meet this Friday. According to a webcast of the Security Council proceeding on the UN website, Nawaf Salam, the UN ambassador from Lebanon which is the current president of the Council, said the application has been sent to the committee for “examination and report on its outcomes.”
A UN official told The Mideast Update by phone that the membership committee process is used for all UN member applications. The committee is comprised of representatives from all 15 nations on the Security Council. They will study and negotiate regarding the application before giving a recommendation to the Council. … Continue Reading
The European Union passed more sanctions on the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad over their violent crackdown on protesters in the country last week, and Europe continues to call for United Nations sanctions against the Assad government. An EU spokesman, speaking with The Mideast Update via email, said on Wednesday that the EU is hoping the UN Security Council will back sanctions on Syria as soon as possible. … Continue Reading
Following the submission of the Palestinian application for UN membership and ensuing statehood recognition, the United Nations Security Council is set to discuss the matter for the second time this week on Wednesday. The topic was first brought before for discussion in the Council on Monday. According to a report on the UN News Centre website, citing the ambassador to the UN from Lebanon—the rotating president of the Council for this month—Wednesday’s meeting is expected to be when they refer the UN bid to the appropriate committee for consideration.
It remains to be seen when a final vote on the Palestinian statehood bid will take place. The final tally in the vote is also unclear, although the United States has in the past pledged to veto such a resolution, should that be necessary. The discussion comes as the Mideast Quartet—the US, Russia, the European Union and the UN—have put forth their own peace proposal. … Continue Reading
Turkey’s relations with Israel continue to deteriorate, with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan escalating his rhetoric against Israel in recent interviews, including arguing for sanctions on the Jewish state. Speaking with Time Magazine in an exclusive interview, Erdogan effectively called for the international community to impose sanctions on Israel over their dispute with the Palestinians, comparing the situation to sanctions passed on Iran. Iran has been accused of seeking illegal nuclear weapons.
The TIME Magazine article was published following an interview Erdogan gave to CNN in which he greatly exaggerated the casualties of war in accusing Israel of killing “hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.” Erdogan contrasted that with Israeli casualties of terrorism without expressing any regret over the Israeli loss of life. … Continue Reading
A father and his one-and-a-half-year-old-son were killed on Friday in a car crash in the West Bank that the Israeli Police believe was caused by a Palestinian stone-throwing incident, according to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. The ongoing police investigation so far has determined that the tragedy occurred when a sharp object, apparently a stone, struck the father in the head, causing the car to lose control. The investigation is ongoing. … Continue Reading