Palestinian president rejects US requests to hold off on UN membership vote

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has rejected requests by the Biden administration to not move forward with a vote at the United Nations Security Council on accepting Palestine as a full member of the UN.

Tension, frustration and mistrust have been growing between the Abbas government and the Biden administration over the last three years. The Palestinian president sees the administration as not acting to push a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, four Palestinian, US and Israeli officials told Axios.

The UN Security Council is expected to vote as soon as April 18 on a draft resolution that would give Palestine full member status at the UN instead of its current observer status.

Gaining full member status — which would amount to the UN recognising a Palestinian state — first requires nine votes to bring a resolution before the 15-member UN Security Council.

The council, which includes the US, would need to approve the application, and it would then have to receive at least two-thirds of General Assembly votes.

US and Israeli officials said the Biden administration is trying to prevent the Palestinians from getting the nine votes so the US won't have to veto the resolution.

A US veto of such a resolution, especially amid the war in Gaza, would bring sharp criticism for Biden internationally and inside his own party, including with some of his supporters.

A US official said the Biden administration has been exploring in recent months options for a possible recognition of Palestine, but not as a unilateral bid at the UN.