The “committee on the accession of new members”, an ad hoc structure of the United Nations Security Council that examines the request for the accession of the Palestinian Authority as a full member state, “is unable to submit a unanimous recommendation” on whether and to what extent they are fulfilled the criteria, as “differing opinions” were expressed, records her report which came to the knowledge of the Reuters news agency yesterday Tuesday.

Meanwhile, in Seoul, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said today that she did not expect a draft resolution to be drawn up recommending that Palestine become a full member state of the UN, which supporters of the idea say would contribute to advance the so-called two-state solution.

Ms Thomas-Greenfield made the statement during a press conference when asked if Washington would support the request.

The Palestinian Authority is nevertheless expected to push for a vote in the SA, possibly tomorrow Thursday, on a draft resolution recommending that the state become a full member, according to diplomatic sources. Algeria, a non-permanent member of the Security Council, circulated a draft resolution yesterday.

If the project went ahead, in practice the tension would entail international de jure recognition of the state of Palestine. The Palestinians today have, thanks to a vote of the UN General Assembly in November 2012, “non-member observer state status”, in other words de facto recognition of their state.

However, in order for the procedure to proceed, a positive proposal by the SA is required in principle (at least 9 votes in favor and no veto from any of the five permanent member states) and then its approval by a two-thirds majority by the General Assembly.

The US has argued, and repeated this month, that the UN is not the place to recognize the state of Palestine: according to Washington, it should be established after an agreement in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

The administration of President Joe Biden is also citing a US law that requires it to cut off UN funding if the Security Council accepts the inclusion of a Palestinian state without a bilateral agreement.

Most of the international community and the Security Council for decades have embraced the vision of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This solution foresees that the two states will live side by side with security and internationally recognized borders. The Palestinians want their state to include the West Bank and Gaza Strip and have East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected the idea of ​​establishing a Palestinian state.

Little progress has been made in this direction since the signing of the Oslo Accords in the 1990s.

The Palestinians this month restarted the process of joining the organization as a full member state, which dates back to 2011, with a letter to the Secretary-General and the Organization’s Security Council, citing Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, which have now complete more than half a year, and the continued expansion of Jewish settlements—even though they are considered illegal under international law—in the West Bank.

“All we ask is to take our rightful place within the community of nations,” Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour said last week.