The Palestinians on Nov 11 said their leaders will decide quickly whether to seek a vote in the Security Council on their bid for UN membership – even though they face certain defeat – or to pursue other UN options. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, said the Palestinians would be consulting Arab leaders and supporters on their next steps after the council’s admissions committee approved a report saying there is no consensus among the 15 council nations on the membership application. The admissions committee sent the report to the Security Council after a brief closed meeting on Friday. Council president Jose Filipe Moraes Cabral of Portugal said members will examine it and discuss possible future actions, but he gave no timetable.
Council diplomats said they were waiting to see what action the Palestinians want to pursue. The report said the council is divided among those who support Palestinian membership, those who can’t support it now and therefore would abstain, and those who believe the application doesn’t meet the criteria for membership and oppose it. For Palestine to become a UN member state, it needs the recommendation of the Security Council. That requires nine “yes” votes — which the Palestinians don’t appear to have — and no veto by a permanent member.