Palestinian UN bid vote on Nov 11 possible
2011-10-19 22:45
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New York - The UN Security Council could vote as early as November 11 on whether to grant the Palestinians full UN membership as a state, a top Western diplomat said on Wednesday.
"There will be further discussions on 11 of November with possibly a vote [that would mark] the end of the consideration process," the diplomat said.
Following a "surprisingly harmonious" meeting on Tuesday, UN ambassadors will hold another meeting on November 3 on the issue, the diplomat said, followed by formal talks on November 11 that could conclude with a vote if the Palestinians want it to go ahead.
"It is in the hands of the Palestinians. If they say they want to delay [the voting process] for two weeks, we will do it," he added.
But the Palestinians still lack the nine votes they need at the Security Council to secure a recommendation for statehood recognition as a full member, which would then be voted on by the UN General Assembly.
They currently hold observer status at the world body and could seek an intermediary status as non-member observer state, a status akin to that held by the Vatican, if the full membership bid fails.
The Palestinian move for UN recognition as a state is strongly opposed by both Israel and the United States, which say a Palestinian state can only emerge through bilateral negotiations.
