Algerian president calls for UN vote on granting Palestine full membership

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has called on the United Nations (UN) to hold a special session to vote on granting full state membership to Palestine. 

The call came in a speech by Tebboune during the opening session of the UN General Assembly, which officially began on Tuesday.

He called for a special session to be held at the UN on conducting a vote granting full membership to Palestine.

The Algerian president also singled out Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories as a leading cause of regional instability.

He went on to say that Algeria supports the 2002 Arab initiative to end the occupation of Palestinian territories, “which is a fundamental cause of instability in the region.”

Tebboune further called on the UN to issue a resolution protecting the two-state solution and ending the Israeli occupation.

Presently, Palestine’s status at the UN is that of a “non-member observer state,” which was upgraded from an “observer entity” in 2012.

However, for Palestine to achieve full UN membership, it needs approval from the UN Security Council, followed by a vote in the UN General Assembly.

Palestine applied for full UN membership in 2011 but failed to get the necessary support in the UN Security Council, which is dominated by the US-led Western states, Israel's key backers. 

Senior Palestinian officials from Palestinian Authority have urged the international community to recognize an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East al-Quds as its capital and demanded an all-out support for its full membership in the United Nations.

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Observers say the so-called two-state initiative is fading and being violated systematically by Israel and its Western allies, and it has become fairly difficult to implement it.

In June, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the occupying regime’s plans to eliminate the Palestinian people’s aspirations for an independent state confirm Israel's “fascist” nature.

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Elsewhere in his remarks, the Algerian president called for reforms within the UNSC, highlighting its inefficiency in maintaining international peace and security and in preventing the use of force.

He also pointed to the “historical injustice” suffered by Africa and underscored the need for the continent to have representation in the council.

Tebboune also took the opportunity to voice Algeria’s stance on the crisis in Niger. He expressed solidarity for the restoration of constitutional order and a peaceful political resolution. The president opposed any foreign military intervention in the situation.

Niger witnessed a military coup on 26 July, led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, the former commander of the Presidential Guard, who ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

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