Turkish diplomatic sources said that Ankara supports Palestine obtaining full membership in the United Nations.
The sources said on Wednesday that Palestine must obtain the approval of the UN Security Council and the support of two-thirds of the members of the UN General Assembly for its full membership.
It indicated that Algeria will submit a draft resolution for Palestine to gain full membership during the next UN Security Council meeting.
It pointed out that the issue has not been presented to the Council until today due to expectations that the United States of America will use its veto power against the draft law.
It stated that “Washington intends to use its veto against the draft resolution that Algeria will submit.”
The sources confirmed that “recent developments show that the issue of recognizing a Palestinian state is enjoying increasing support in the international community.”
It added: “Turkey has always been one of the strongest supporters of this issue and was a pioneer in Palestine obtaining the status of an observer member by the General Assembly’s decision in 2012, and during this stage we will also support the recognition of Palestine in all our meetings.”
The American administration had indicated its intention to use its veto power if Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations was proposed.
-Advertisement-
Earlier Wednesday, the US representative to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said that she “does not believe that full membership of Palestine in the United Nations will help achieve a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.”
Palestine obtained the status of a non-member observer state at the United Nations after a resolution adopted by the General Assembly by a large majority on November 29, 2012.
Palestine applied for full membership in the United Nations in 2011, but this application did not receive the necessary support in the UN Security Council.
On April 2, the Permanent Representative of Palestine to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, sent a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, requesting that the membership application be reconsidered.
The Security Council will vote on Thursday on a draft resolution regarding Palestine gaining full membership in the United Nations instead of “non-member observer” status.
Obtaining full membership requires the approval of 9 member states of the Security Council (15 countries), provided that none of the five veto countries, namely the United States, Russia, France, Britain, and China, object.
If the Council approves, the membership application will be referred to the General Assembly, and it must obtain two-thirds of the votes of the Assembly, which is composed of 193 countries, 139 of which recognize the State of Palestine.
