The Palestinian Authority intends to press the United Nations to schedule a vote on its admission as a full member of the world body later this month, Ramallah’s permanent UN “observer” told Reuters on Monday night.

“The intention is to put the application to a vote in the Security Council this month,” Riyad Mansour told the press agency. He added that the Palestinian Authority hopes the UN Security Council will make a decision at an April 18 meeting on the Middle East.

Mansour claimed Ramallah’s 2011 application for full membership was still pending, because the Security Council never made a formal decision. The PA currently holds UN observer status, the same as several NGOs and Vatican City .

“Whoever supports recognising a Palestinian state at such a time not only gives a prize to terror, but also backs unilateral steps which are contradictory to the agreed upon principle of direct negotiations,” stated Gilad Erdan, Israel’s UN ambassador.

Erdan said that Ramallah did not meet the required criteria for statehood in its previous bid for full-fledged UN membership and “has only moved further from the goals it should achieve since.”

For the Palestinian Authority to gain full UN member state status, at least nine of the 15 members of the UN Security Council must approve the application, and then two-thirds of the UN General Assembly would have to support it in a vote. 

However the first vote went, a permanent Security Council member, like Washington, could veto the decision, although the Biden administration is reportedly considering withdrawing that veto power against “Palestine” being admitted as a full UN member state.

There is widespread opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state in Israel, with opinion polls regularly showing a majority of Israeli Jews opposed to the idea.

Nearly two-thirds (66%) of Israeli Jews oppose the creation of a Palestinian state while 27% support it, according to this year’s “Peace Index” survey, which Tel Aviv University released.

On February 21, the Israeli Knesset voted 99-11 to back the government’s decision to reject any unilateral recognition of “Palestine.” All coalition lawmakers and most members of the Zionist opposition parties voted in favour of supporting a Cabinet statement rejecting “international diktats regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians.”

Palestinian polls suggest that 89% of Palestinians support establishing a government that includes or is led by Hamas.