RIYADH: A campaign by Arab states to block Israel’s bid for a Security Council seat has gained support weeks ahead of a scheduled UN vote, the Palestinian foreign minister said. “We are doing everything possible to convince as many countries as possible to block the vote on Israel’s bid for a seat at the Security Council,” Riyad al Maliki told reporters in Riyadh ahead of the Arab Summit.
“We need to secure the one-third vote necessary for a veto, and we believe we can, as Arab and Islamic states,” the minister added.
Maliki said the Palestinian effort to block the vote had also received significant support from European allies.
Israel, Germany and Belgium are in the running for two coveted spots at the Security Council, the UN’s most powerful branch.
The 193 members of the UN General Assembly are scheduled to vote on the seats in June.
The United Nations in 2012 approved the recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state but left the status of Jerusalem hanging.
East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel in the 1967 war, and the sector is today widely considered occupied territory.
US President Donald Trump in December announced the United States would recognise Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state of Israel, sparking a wave of outrage across the Arab world. — AFP
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