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Fri, Sept 16, 2011 | AlJazeera

Abbas: Palestinians seek full UN membership

Palestinian leader says he will hand in request to Security Council for full recognition of Palestine at the United Nations.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has confirmed that he will request full membership at the United Nations when the General Assembly convenes next week.

“We are going to the Security Council,” Abbas said during a speech on Friday in Ramallah. “We need to have full membership in the United Nations … we need a state, and we need a seat at the UN.”

Abbas said he would submit the formal request for recognition after his General Assembly speech on September 23.

He said that more than 120 countries have already promised to support the Palestinian bid. Abbas also mentioned US President Barack Obama’s 2010 speech at the General Assembly, when he expressed hope that a Palestinian state would join the UN within the next year.

Full recognition requires a two-thirds vote at the General Assembly. But it also requires approval at the Security Council, where the US has said it will veto the request.

Abbas said nothing during his speech about the expected US veto. He framed the UN bid as a necessary step brought on by the impasse in negotiations with Israel. […]

Abbas tried to portray himself as a representative of the entire Palestinian people, not just those living in the West Bank, though his speech said almost nothing about Gaza or Palestinians in the diaspora.

He acknowledged some of the criticism of the bid, which even many Palestinian officials admit will not change day-to-day life in the occupied territories.

Media have continued to speculate about an 11th-hour deal to avert the bid, or at least to convince the PLO not to demand full recognition.

Abbas’ speech seems certain to cement the PLO’s strategy, it would be politically disastrous to back down after publicly outlining his plans. [Read more…]

Abbas said that the move is not intended to isolate Israel or delegitimize its legal status. “Israel is there, no one can isolate or take away its legal status, but we need to isolate the policies of Israel. We need to put an end to the occupation and take away the legal status of the occupation.”

The PA president said that recognition of statehood with pre-1967 borders is necessary for renewed negotiations with Israel. “We need to have full [UN] membership within [pre-1967] borders in order to go to negotiations on a basis adopted by the world so that we may discuss the permanent issues of Jerusalem, borders, refugees — and our prisoners in Israeli prisons.”

“We’re not going there to bring independence, we will come back to negotiate the issues, but god willing, we need full membership in the UN.” [JPost]