The authorities of Palestine have given up on obtaining membership of the United Nations (UN), RBC reports.
Palestine will now try to make use of its observer status in the UN, which will give it access to key international organizations.
The UN Security Council has failed to reach a consensus on the Palestinian request for membership. The US and its allies say the autonomy fails to meet the necessary criteria . Their opponents, mainly Russia, insist on granting membership to Palestine.
Mahmoud Abbas sent a membership request in September. His initiative was criticized by the US, which believes that the membership would scuttle the negotiation process in the Middle East. Israel spoke out against UN membership for Palestine as well.
The situation was complicated by the recent approval of Palestine as a member of UNESCO. The US, Canada and Israel announced they would cease financing UNESCO, with Tel-Aviv promising to intensify construction in East Jerusalem. The construction of Jewish buildings on Arab territories is the main reason for Palestine’s request for UN membership.
