Palestine 194

Palestine 194 is an ongoing diplomatic campaign by the Palestinian National Authority to gain membership in the United Nations for the State of Palestine. The name of the campaign is a reference to Palestine becoming the 194th member of the UN.^[1] The UN campaign is part of a strategy to gain international recognition of the State of Palestine, based on the borders prior to the Six-Day War, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The initiative developed during a two-year impasse in negotiations with Israel that followed the latter's refusal to freeze its settlement activities in the West Bank. The campaign was reported in the media as early as late 2009,^[2] and gained prominence during the leadup to the 66th Session of the General Assembly in September 2011.^[1] Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas submitted the application to the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 23 September 2011, which the Security Council has yet to vote on.

The campaign was formally backed by the Arab League in May 2011,^[3] and was officially confirmed by the Palestine Liberation Organization on 26 June 2011.^[4] The application was labelled by the Israeli government a unilateral step, while the Palestinian government argued it was essential to overcome the current impasse in negotiations. Several other countries, such as Germany and Canada, have also rejected the application and called for a prompt return to negotiations. Others, however, such as Norway and Russia, have endorsed the plan. The Secretary-General stated, "UN members are entitled whether to vote for or against the Palestinian statehood recognition at the UN."^[5]

With the failure to achieve a U.N. Security Council vote for membership, in September 2012, the Palestinian Authority submitted a draft General Assembly resolution to accord non-member observer state status to Palestine, which the General Assembly passed on 29 November 2012.^[6]