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France to support Palestinian bid for UN
status
France has
announced that it is going to vote in favour of the Palestinians
becoming a UN "non-member observer state," Xinhua reported
Tuesday. "France will vote yes" when the question is asked at the
UN General
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Geneva: Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas will on Thursday put the Palestinian claim for elevated status to
the 193-member UN General Assembly where he is certain to get an
emphatic majority.
More European states joined France in backing the Palestinian bid
but Britain held back, saying it wanted an assurance that the
Palestinians would not pursue Israel through the International
Criminal Court.
Germany said it would not support the diplomatic upgrade for the
Palestinians at the UN.
Granting Palestinians the title of “observer state” short of full
UN representation could allow them access to the court and some
other international bodies.
President Abbas is leading the campaign and several European
governments are eager to give him their support after an eight-day
conflict this month.
Abbas has pledged to re-launch the peace process immediately
following the UN vote, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said as it gave
its backing for fuller Palestinian statehood.
With overwhelming support from the developing world, the
Palestinians appear certain to earn approval in the 193-member UN
General Assembly for the status upgrade today.
Meanwhile, Abbas also
met two senior US officials last night to discuss his
controversial bid for elevated UN recognition, diplomats said.
Abbas held talks with Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and
US Middle East envoy David Hill at his hotel, diplomats said.
“They had talks on the Palestinian application for membership, the
US position on this is well known,” a western official told AFP.
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