Palestine to apply for full UN membership early next year

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki says Palestine would “lodge an application to gain full state membership at the United Nations” in January.

Speaking in an interview with Ramallah-based Voice of Palestine radio station on Wednesday, Maliki said he would file the application upon Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' instructions in a bid to upgrade Palestine's status from an observer state to a full-member state to the UN Security Council (UNSC), when he visits New York next month.

Palestinians need support from at least nine of the UNSC's 15 member states to secure full state membership.

Maliki further noted that he would demand the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2334, and ask the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an official inquiry into Israeli settlement construction.

SS