27/06/2011 11:36
Palestinian leadership votes to ask for UN recognition
The West Bank Palestinian leadership on Sunday formally decided to press ahead with efforts in September to win UN recognition of a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in what could be a blow to efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
The leadership, made up of the Palestine Liberation Organization's decision-making body and officials of the Palestinian Authority, the self-rule government in the West Bank, said in a statement that the goal was to bring a state of Palestine into the family of nations of the world, AP reported.
Some Palestinians believe that contrary to the notion that UN recognition would stymie peace talks, such world status would force Israel to make concessions when negotiations resume.
Recognition of a Palestinian state by the UN General Assembly would carry considerable diplomatic weight but would not carry legal clout. Only the UN Security Council can add a nation to the world body, and the U.S. government has repeatedly expressed its opposition to the move, while stopping short of saying it would veto such a resolution.