UNSC Expected to Vote on Palestinian Membership

Facts

• It has been reported by Reuters that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will vote at 2PM ET on Friday on a resolution recommending Palestine be admitted as a member of the international organization.¹
• Palestine's mission to the UN also announced via X on Wednesday that, on behalf of the organization's Arab Group, Algeria had presented a draft resolution concerning the country's membership to the General Assembly.²
• Earlier this month UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that, in accordance with rule 59 of the provisional rules of Security Council procedure, Palestine had requested 'renewed consideration' of its Sept. 2011 membership application take place in April.³
• However, a second report by Reuters claimed that a UN Security Council committee was consequently 'unable to make a unanimous recommendation' to upgrade Palestine's current non-member observer status.⁴
• Speaking in Seoul, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greene stated that Washington 'd[id] not see' a UNSC resolution in favor of Palestinian membership helping towards the reaching of a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.⁵
• In order to become a UN member, a state must receive at least nine out of 15 possible votes in support from the UNSC, without a veto from either China, Russia, France, the UK, or the US, as well as a two-third majority within the UN's General Assembly.⁶

Sources: ¹reuters.com, ²twitter.com, ³documents.un.org, ⁴New York Times, ⁵Washington Post and ⁶un.org.

Narratives

• Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Common Dreams. Friday will provide both the US and UK the opportunity to side with democracy and join more than two-thirds of the UN's General Assembly that wish to see Palestine recognized as an official member. Despite committing unforgivable and unforgettable damage to the Middle East, the US and UK now possess the chance to finally create a path to meaningful peace by catalyzing international consensus concerning a sustainable two-state solution. History will remember the result of Friday's vote.
• Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by timesofisrael.com. Despite potentially reaching up to 13 UNSC votes, any resolution attempting to accept Palestine as a UN member is likely to be vetoed by the US. The reality remains that if Palestine is ever to be recognized, this must come as the result of consensus in the Middle East — not the decision-making of a distant international body that cannot state with confidence that Palestine truly meets its 'peace-loving' criteria for ascension.

Predictions