Palestine to apply for full UN membership in January

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Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki declared on Wednesday that Palestine would "initiate an application to gain full state membership at the United Nations" in January.

Al-Maliki told the official radio station Voice of Palestine that he would file the application to upgrade Palestine's status from an observer state to a full-member state to the UN Security Council (UNSC) during his upcoming visit to New York next month, upon Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' instructions.

To secure full state membership, the Palestinians need support from at least nine out of the UNSC's 15 member states.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki (C) speaks with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah (R) during an extraordinary meeting of the International Donor Group for Palestine at the EU headquarters in Brussels, January 31, 2018. /VCG Photo

Al-Maliki also said he would demand the UNSC implementation of Resolution 2334 and ask the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an official inquiry into Israeli settlement construction.

According to UNSC Resolution 2334, the UN secretary-general should present the Security Council with a progress report every three months on Israeli settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Palestine has been recognized by the UN as a non-member observer state since 2012.

(Top image: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas uses hand gestures as he speaks at a Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East in the Security Council Chamber at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, February 20, 2018. /VCG photo)

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency