Palestinians around the world have been trying to rally support behind their effort to be recognized as an independent state at the United Nations ahead of a diplomatic showdown at the organization later this month.
But the UN statehood bid is far from straightforward. Before Palestinians approach the United Nations, they'll have to wade through several thorny bureaucratic and political issues.
To understand the bid further, CTVNews.ca spoke to two individuals who've been following the campaign.
What exactly are Palestinians asking the United Nations for?
The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank, is pushing to have the United Nations recognize a Palestinian state. The effort comes amid nearly three years of deadlock in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.
Right now, Palestinians currently have status as a non-member political entity at the United Nations. This means Palestinians can participate in some debates but can't take part in key votes at the world body.
Full recognition as an independent state would give Palestinians a more active role at the UN and may grant them access to the International Criminal Court (ICC), says a senior fellow at the American Task Force on Palestine.
"An upgrade in status may allow them to access the International Criminal Courts, which could give them the ability to pressure Israel 鈥� but this is all theoretical," Hussein Ibish told CTVNews.ca.
What would the Palestinian state look like?
Palestinians are asking the UN to recognize their independence in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. All these areas were seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects the Palestinian statehood bid and has said the borders of a future state must be determined through negotiations.
Officials are calling the push for recognition "Palestine 194" as Palestinians want to become the 194th member of the United Nations.
Is the bid likely to go through?
Palestinian officials plan to ask the UN Security Council, the organization's major decision-making arm, to approve their bid for statehood. But the plan may be stymied by the United States, which has said it will use its veto power to defeat the proposal in council.
The only other option for Palestinians is to lean on the UN's General Assembly, said Ibish. The assembly can't give Palestinians full UN membership but can upgrade the status from non-member "entity" to non-member "state" such as the Vatican.
Canada also opposes the Palestinian effort to win recognition at the UN.
"To be clear, this is not about actually becoming a state, it's about changing status in the UN," said Ibish who has been following the Israeli-Palestinian conflict professionally for 10 years.
"Palestine cannot become a physical state until occupation ends. I guess you can say they want to become a virtual state with a seat in the UN," he said.
What are the advantages of UN recognition?
UN recognition of statehood will ensure that Palestinians are politically represented on the world stage, says a board member at the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations (NCCAR).
"Whether they achieve physical statehood or a symbolic statehood, what really matters is Palestinians are able to express diplomatically what their aspirations are," Rula Odeh told CTVNews.ca on the phone from Montreal.
While Odeh concedes that Palestinians will still need to negotiate for long-term peace, she said she believes the bid may solve the current impasse in Israeli-Palestinian discussions.
Are there disadvantages to UN recognition?
There may be steep consequences for Palestinians should the UN decide to recognize the "entity" as a state, said Ibish.
In his opinion, an upgraded UN status may indirectly:
- Push Israeli-Palestinian peace talks into further deadlock
- Draw the ire of Israel and isolate the nation
- Spark additional violence in occupied territories
- Prompt the United States to withdraw funding to Palestinians
"[Palestinians] feel there are real diplomatic gains to be made here but the problem is there may be steep consequences attached too. That's a combustible mix," he said.
With files from The Associated Press
