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UN has handed Palestinian bid to Security Council president: spokesman

23 September 2011 21:18 (UTC +04:00)

"The secretary-general has transmitted the Palestinian application to the president of the Security Council," Fahan Haq, the associate UN spokesman, told reporters here.

Last week, the secretary-general pledged to hand over the Palestinian bid to the Security Council as soon as possible if he is requested to do so.

Nawaf Salam, the Lebanese UN ambassador, holds the rotating Security Council presidency for September. Lebanon is currently a non-permanent member of the Security Council.

The Security Council whose approval and recommendation is a must for the new UN membership, has 35 days to consider the application.

Palestinians have warned against what they called "the technical delay" in dealing with the statehood bid.

The United States, a permanent Council member and a close ally of Israel, threatens to veto any Security Council move to recognize Palestine as a member state on the ground that the Middle East peace should be achieved through direct talks between the Palestinians and Israelis.