Palestinians ‘determined on UN bid’

The Palestinian leadership has decided to go ahead with its plan to seek full UN membership and President Mahmoud Abbas would go to New York to submit a  request to  the UN Secretary General when the General Assembly opens next week,  Palestinian ambassador Munir Ghannam said in Doha yesterday. The embassy is sponsoring a people’s delegation from Palestine which is on a world tour to promote the Palestinian file for the UN bid. Ghannam said  the Palestinian community hopes Palestine becomes the 194th  member of the UN. This decision according to the ambassador enjoys the full support of the Arab countries  and a broad international support, for there are 126 countries that recognise the state of Palestine while adding, “this number is increasing.”“This daring step is important because it refers the Palestinian- Israeli conflict to the international community which ought to undertake its responsibility to end this long and unjust occupation,” the envoy said . “Full UN membership to  Palestine will make all the occupational practices of Israel illegal.” He also pointed out that the very existence of embassies of Palestine in different countries in the world including Qatar is proof that these countries recognise the State of Palestine. He said Qatar was a pioneer in recognising the State of Palestine since its declaration in Algeria in 1988. He appreciated the role Qatar has played in supporting the Palestinian cause and its UN bid in particular. He admitted that Qatar had the greatest share in providing legal, political and procedural documents necessary to prepare the bid file. He also praised the courageous and serious stand of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani in stressing the rights of Palestinians in having full UN membership. Qatar has sponsored the popular campaign to promote the UN bid. The head of the delegation, Ayman Subayh also thanked Qatar for its vital role in the process. “We are carrying an actual seat (chair) on a world tour. The seat symbolises the full UN membership of Palestine.” He pointed out that they have decided to carry the seat on their own to the UN. “The flying seat” as it is known, was taken from Palestine to Lebanon and Russia, from where it has arrived in Qatar. From here, it will travel to  France, Belgium, Spain, Britain and Ireland before it arrives in the US.“It will be delivered to the UN Secretary General to put it in the General Assembly, where it will represent Palestine until it attains its rightful position.” He urged the countries of the world to extend their support for the bid, to ensure peace is achieved and justice is delivered.Asked what would happen if  the United States vetoed their request,  the Palestinian ambassador said that they were determined to go ahead with the move. He  mentioned that the Palestinian bid for the UN membership was a move towards peace and thus it enhanced this effort by  granting  Palestine its legal and just right.The Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has scheduled an announcement for tomorrow night, as two senior US envoys prepare to return to the region, to mount a last-ditch effort to revive Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, which has stalled for nearly a year