The members of the UN Security Council did not reach a consensus on the recommendation for the Palestinians to join the UN. This was announced by the rotating chairman of the Council for the month of April, BTA reported.
Criticizing the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians last week renewed their request to join the United Nations, made back in 2011. The Security Council began a formal procedure of examining the request within a specially appointed commission. It includes representatives of the member countries of the Council. No consensus was reached at the commission's second closed-door meeting, said Malta's permanent representative to the UN, Vanessa Frazier, who will chair the Council in April.
She added that two-thirds of the Council members supported full Palestinian accession to the UN, but the special committee could only make decisions by consensus.
The fact that there is no consensus now does not mean the end of the Palestinian accession process. With the special committee adjourning the matter, any member of the Council can now put to a vote a resolution on the issue of Palestinian membership. According to diplomatic sources, a vote could take place on April 18 at the initiative of Algeria, which represents the Arab countries in the Council. The Maltese representative said that such a resolution would need to gather 9 votes, but observers predict a veto from the US.
As in 2011, the Americans still believe that the UN is not the place to recognize a Palestinian state, which they believe should be created after an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. They also point to a US law that would cut funding to the United Nations if the Security Council accepts a Palestinian state outside of a bilateral agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.