Palestinians Ask UN for Full Membership
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, addressing the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, formally requested that the UN grant full membership to the Palestinian people of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. UN recognition would likely put the Palestinians on a path toward full statehood with pre-1967 borders. (At the conclusion of the 1967 Six Day War between Israel and Egypt [and Egyptian allies Syria, Jordan, and Iraq], Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Israel vowed not to withdraw from these territories until the four Arab nations recognized Israel’s right to exist. In June 1967, Israel officially made the eastern half of Jerusalem part of Israel.)
“I do not believe anyone with a shred of conscience can reject our application for full admission in the United Nations,” President Abbas declared before the General Assembly. He described statehood as “the realization of the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people.” Reviewing the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Abbas stated that every previous peace effort had been “shattered on the rock” of Israeli settlements. He insisted that it was the UN’s “historical responsibility” to resolve the conflict. His bid must first be submitted to the UN Security Council. International affairs experts predict that the United States would veto it. They also suggest that such a veto will further wreck U.S. prestige in the Middle East.
Additional World Book articles:
- Arab-Israeli conflict
- Arafat, Yasir
- Hamas
- Oslo Accords
- Palestine
- Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
- Bank in Time (1948)
- Back in Time (1967)
