US Ambassador Says Full Membership Of The United Nations Doesn't Help Palestine Acquire State Status

JAKARTA - American Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Wednesday she saw no UN resolution recommending the Palestinian Authority to become a full member of the United Nations, helping to lead to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Thomas-Greenfield made the comments at a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, after being asked if the United States was open to recognizing the Palestinian Authority's request for full membership at the United Nations.

"We don't see that making a resolution at the Security Council will get us to a point where we can find a solution for the two countries in the future," Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield said.

He further explained, US President Joe Biden firmly said Washington supports the two-state solution and seeks to make it happen as soon as possible.

Palestinian authorities are expected to push the 15-member Security Council to vote on Thursday regarding a draft resolution recommending the country to become a full member of the world's agency, diplomats said.

Algerian Security Council members circulated the draft text on Tuesday night local time.

Earlier, the UN Security Council committee considering the petition "was unable to make unanimous recommendations" regarding whether the request met the criteria, according to a committee report seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

The request to become a full member of the United Nations must be approved by the Security Council, in which the United States can grant veto rights, and then at least two-thirds of the 193 members of the General Assembly.

To date, little progress has been made in achieving Palestinian state status since the signing of the Oslo Agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the early 1990s.

One of the obstacles is the expansion of Israeli settlements, while Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan said the Palestinian Authority had not met the required criteria to become a country.

It is known that the Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas, runs a limited self-governing in the West Bank and is an Israeli partner in the Oslo Agreement. Meanwhile, Hamas in 2007 toppled the Palestinian Authority from power in the Gaza Strip.