143 Countries Ask for Palestine to Be a Full UN Member

On Friday, during the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), 143 out of 193 countries voted in favor of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reconsidering Palestine's integration as a full-fledged state.

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Countries such as the United States, Israel, Argentina, Hungary, and the Czech Republic voted against. Twenty-five countries abstained from voting on a resolution presented by Spain, Ireland, Norway, Belgium, and seventy other countries.

The resolution approved also grants Palestine new competencies surpassing its current status as a "non-member observer state" and defines its participation in the UNGA. However, it specifies that Palestine will not have voting rights nor can it stand as a candidate for United Nations bodies.

The UNGA resolution declares that the State of Palestine is eligible for UN membership in accordance with Article 4 of the founding charter and "therefore must be admitted as a member of the United Nations." Consequently, the General Assembly "recommends that the Security Council reconsider the matter favorably."

On April 18, the Security Council rejected Palestine's full membership due to the U.S. blockade. On that occasion, 12 Council members supported the proposal, and two abstained.

Now, an indefinite period opens in which the Council could reconsider the matter. The majority achieved by the resolution favorable to Palestine is much higher than the two-thirds required, but it is only slightly higher than the one obtained in 2012 for Palestine's entry as an Observer State, which then had 138 favorable votes and 9 against.

This difference is explained by the tensions provoked by the Arab countries' insistence that today's resolution include voting rights for the state of Palestine. This was poorly received even among European countries favorable to Palestine.

Today's session had its dramatic moments, such as when Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour recalled that the Palestinian flag "flies high and proud in Palestine and around the globe and on the campus of Columbia University," a moment when his voice broke.