UN General Assembly to back Palestine statehood. Does it mean anything?

The world has been watching the war between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas for seven months now. Around 34,000 Palestinians have lost their lives in the war that seems to have no end. Israel is capturing Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. People are evacuating buildings and even hospitals there. Amid this, thousands of kilometres away, there’s something going Palestine’s way.

On Friday (May 10), the United Nations might help the people in Palestine by accepting Palestine’s membership as the 194th UN member nation. Is this just a symbolic move or is it in any way going to help alleviate the sufferings of the people in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank?

Israel’s offensive in Hamas-controlled Gaza began after the terrorist group infiltrated into the Jewish country on October 7 last year and massacred a thousand people and took hundreds hostage. Israel started pounding Gaza and later started a ground offensive in the Palestinian territory. It is seven months, and the war refuses to end.

Amid this ongoing war, the global community has refused to remain a silent bystander, and it is protesting actively to support the people of Palestine. From campus protests to UN intervention, all efforts are being made to support the people of Palestine.

On May 10, the United Nations might help the people in Palestine by accepting Palestine’s membership as the 194th UN member nation. The UN General Assembly is not shying away from helping Palestinians as it plans to recognise Palestinian statehood and send the application to the UN Security Council to “reconsider the matter favourably”, according to Reuters.

Palestinians have been seeking full UN membership for decades now and this would lead to making Palestinian statehood claims valid.

“We sincerely hope after 12 years since we changed our status to an observer state, that the Security Council will elevate itself to implementing the global consensus on the two-state solution by admitting the state of Palestine for full membership,” said the Palestinian envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, reported The Washington Post.

But full statehood at the UN might not come as easily as it sounds. The US has already vetoed Palestine’s claim in the 15-member UN Security Council (UNSC), reported The New York Times. The ultimate veto power remains with the US and the other four permanent members of the UNSC: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom.

“It remains the US view that the path toward statehood for the Palestinian people is through direct negotiations”, said the US mission to the UN. The US even cuts funds for UN organisation that grant full membership to “internationally recognised attributes.”

The vote by the General Assembly might not be able to give Palestine an actual membership, but it will show global support for the Palestinian people. But, the deciding factor will be the approval of the Security Council first and then the General Assembly.

Even if the UNSC vetoes the move for full statehood for Palestine, the vote by the United Nations General Assembly will bring some benefits to the Palestinians. From September 2024, Palestinian representatives will get a seat with other UN members in the Assembly Hall, but Palestine will still not be allowed to vote.