Israel/Palestine State Debate@UN

Independent Films, Politics

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas today (23 Sept) submitted an application for Palestine to become a United Nations (UN) Member State.

Abbas handed over an application to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at UN Headquarters in New York this morning. Palestine currently has observer status at the UN.

According to the provisions of the UN Charter, the Secretary-General is tasked with verifying any letter requesting UN membership, after which he sends it to the Security Council and the General Assembly.

The application is considered by the Council, which decides whether or not to recommend admission to the 193-member Assembly, which has to adopt a resolution for the admission of any new Member State.

Later, Abbas told the Assembly’s annual general debate that Palestine is applying for full membership of the UN, on the basis of the so-called 4 June 1967 borders.

“The time has come to end the suffering and the plight of millions of Palestinian refugees in the homeland and the Diaspora to end their displacement and to realize their right, some of them forced to take refuge more than once in different places of the world,” he said.

Also addressing the General Assembly today was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanjahu. “We believe that the Palestinians should be neither the citizens of Israel nor its subjects, they should live in a free state of their own, but they should be ready like us to compromise and we will know that they are ready for compromise and for peace when they start taking Israel’s security requirement seriously and when they stop denying our historical connection to our ancient homeland,” he said.

Directors:

• Muhamed Sacirbey (UNTV)

Producers:

• Susan Sacirbey (UNTV)