UN Set to Upgrade Palestinian Status

Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, showing a copy of the ?application for UN ?membership which he submitted to the Secretary-General in 2011. ?Photo by UN

The UN General Assembly is set to vote on upgrading the Palestinian status from observer entity to observer state, thus implicitly recognizing a sovereign state Palestine, according to media reports.

Palestinians say the bid, which would give it the same "non-member state" status as the Vatican, is an attempt to rescue the Middle East peace process, BBC informs.

The Palestinian resolution is expected to pass easily in the 193-nation UN General Assembly, it needs only a simple majority.

The bid is strongly opposed by Israel and the US, while the UK may abstain from voting.

According to the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), more than 130 countries now grant the Palestinians the rank of a sovereign state.

Opponents of the bid say a Palestinian state should emerge only out of bilateral negotiations, BBC reminds.

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