PALESTINE SUBMITS APPLICATION TO BECOME FULL MEMBER OF THE UN

By Nani Rahayu Yusof
NEW YORK (Bernama) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas submitted
an application for Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations
(UN)Friday.

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

Under 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.

Abbas told the assembly that Palestine is applying for full membership of
the UN on the basis of the June 4 1967 borders.

“Palestine is being reborn. This is my message,” he said, adding that he
hoped it did not have to wait long for the application to be approved.

“I call upon Mr Secretary-General to expedite transmittal of our request to
the Security Council, and I call upon the distinguished members of the Security
Council to vote in favour of our full membership. I also appeal to the states
that have not yet done so to recognise the State of Palestine,” he told the
General Assembly amid thunderous applause and with many delegates giving him a
standing ovation.

When he held up the copy of the applcation submitted to Ban, some delegates
again gave the Palestinian leader a standing ovation, with a few even whistling
in support.