Palestine UN Membership: What would Be the Political and Legal Outcomes?

After adopting ceasefire resolutions and taking the Israeli war crimes case to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the world community has revealed its last card in support of Palestine.

On Friday, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution that backs full membership of Palestine in the UN.

143 countries voted in favor of this resolution, 25 countries abstained and 9 countries rejected this resolution. According to the draft resolution that was presented by Palestine and the Arab countries, the state of Palestine is eligible for membership in the United Nations according to Article 4 of the UN Charter, and therefore it should be accepted as a member of the organization. This resolution recommends that the Security Council positively review this issue in order to vote positively for the acceptance of Palestine as a member. 

According to this resolution, the General Assembly exceptionally decides to adopt several methods regarding the participation of the Palestinian government in the meetings and work of the General Assembly and international conferences held under its auspices.

This resolution emphasizes the right of the Palestinian people for self-determination, including having their own independent state. It also calls on the international community to make renewed and coordinated efforts to end the Israeli occupation that began in 1967, and to achieve a fair, sustainable and peaceful solution to the Palestinian issue and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in accordance with international law.

In explaining their vote on the draft resolution, the representatives of the member states made statements, most of which pointing to the fact that Palestine deserves its status as a full member state of the UN due to its adherence to standards that are indisputable. The right of the Palestinian nation to determine its own destiny amid the attempt to destroy it in Israel's encroachment on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, forced displacement, confiscation of land, and expansion of settlements is mandatory, according to the resolution.

A majority of the members stressed the need for the world community's responsibility to push for implementation of the two-state solution and make sure of respecting the UN Charter and the obligations of the two states for the Israeli regime to commit to the international and humanitarian laws. 

The historic vote of the UNGA has actually showed a coin with a completely different side. Palestinian groups see this as a result of resistance to the Israeli occupation. On the opposite side, Israel's UN envoy Gilad Arden, enraged by the resolution, in a show of arrogance put the UN Charter in a paper shredder, claiming: "This shameless organization has chosen to reward today's Nazis with rights and privileges, and I am disgusted by those who kill every Jewish man, woman, and child." 

Reacting to the resolution, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Gantz described it "ridiculous" and a "reward" to Hamas resistance movement. 

Palestine is currently a non-member observer, but has been seeking membership since 2011, and the latest diplomatic move was vetoed by the US in the Security Council last month. The request for membership in the UN as a full member must first be approved by the 15 members of the Security Council and then by the General Assembly. The US is the biggest barrier to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and its membership in the UN, and this time, too, it is unlikely that the General Assembly resolution will be able to safely pass the Washington veto in the Security Council. This issue was stated openly by Robert Wood, the US representative in the United Nations, and said that if Palestine's request for full membership is presented to the Security Council again after the recent UNGA resolution, the result will not change.

Rights and privileges Palestine will get under UN membership 

The UNGA will grant the Palestinians addition rights and privileges like a seat among the General Assembly members since September, though they will still have no voting right at this body. 

Although there is a long way to go to realize the dream of forming an independent Palestinian state, if the Security Council approves the resolution of the General Assembly, then Palestine will have broad rights to speak on its own behalf or on behalf of its groups in the UN meetings.

By winning a seat in the UN, Palestinians can present resolutions, proposals, and amendments on their behalf or on behalf of other groups in the UN system. If the resolution is passed, Palestinians will be able to participate in high-level meetings and international conferences, as they have the right to vote. 

Full Palestinian membership will change the rules of peace game in West Asia because Palestinians with UN membership will not have to beg the US or other countries to pursue their rights and the legal Palestinian envoy in the UN will can practically and directly support the Palestinian rights and there be no need for mediators. 

Also, the recognition of Palestine by the United Nations makes it eligible to confront the illegal actions of the Israeli occupation and help bolster the international consensus against occupation. After all, if Israel's occupation of Palestine continues, this will be recognized an act of aggression against another member of the United Nations, and the members of the UN can seriously stand up to the Israeli regime and pass resolutions against it. Palestine envoy can also be a member of the relevant UN committees and bodies and make votes and proposals. 

The ball now in the US court 

Although, from a legal point of view, the full membership of Palestine in the UN must go through the Security Council and the US will not allow such a resolution, from the political aspect, it will have a lot of costs for Tel Aviv and its key backer Washington. 

The majority support by the UN members to Palestine shows that after Gaza war and the genocide by the Israeli forces, the wave of global outrage against the Israeli regime has increased and this will mean further isolation of Tel Aviv on the world stage. 

The largely insulting behavior of the Israeli envoy to the UN proved to all that the Israelis respect no international laws and decisions and in the future Israel is likely to be excommunicated by many countries. 

Additionally, the Arab countries, which in recent years were taking steps towards the normalization of relations with the Israeli regime, have now realized that making friendship with the child-killing regime will not bring them anything other than humiliation and complicity in the killing of Palestinians. Therefore, with regard to the support of 143 UN member states for Palestine's membership, this resolution will force concilatory Arab rulers to review their policies. 

Also, given the resolute vote of the UNGA and large-scale support to the Palestinian UN membership, now the ball is in the UN court to show if it really respects the world decisions. If Washington repeats the veto, it actually ridicules the international decisions. This would mean that the international community will see the US as an accomplice to the Israeli crimes in the occupied territories and certainly will no longer support Washington in the UN, as many countries did not support the American-backed anti-Russian resolution about Ukraine war. In other words, the US and Israel will be isolated and would not be able to count on their close partners to realize their goals. 

The rejuvenated push for full Palestinian membership in the UN comes as the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza has brought to spotlight the 75-year Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Perhaps what happened of crimes in Gaza over the past seven months and the genocidal war have caused many countries to review their stances, including their UN voting, on Palestine. So, it is time for international community to make its final decision to end this long-term dispute. Meanwhile, any US obstruction of such international efforts will only perpetuate the crisis in the region and the world, and the top victims will be the Israelis and Americans that defy the international community demands.