Committee on new admissions to meet Friday
The UN Security Council has forwarded the Palestinian application for statehood and full membership to the committee on new admissions. The committee is set to discuss the issue in meetings on Friday, the CBC reports. It is expected to be weeks before the application is put to the 15-member Security Council for a vote. Palestinian envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour told reporters in New York that he appreciates the speed with which the application was sent to committee, adding that he hopes to see “positive action” taken by the international body. The U.S. has promised to veto the Palestinian statehood application if it wins support in the Security Council. In a speech last week, President Barack Obama told the UN General Assembly that the best route to statehood was through bilateral negotiations with Israel. But the Palestinian Authority that governs the occupied West Bank says it will not return to talks with the Israelis until all settlement construction in Palestinian territory is frozen—a condition Israel rejects. Earlier this week, the government approved the construction of 1,100 new housing units in East Jerusalem, the prospective capital of a future Palestinian state.