The Palestinians have officially revived their application to become a full member state in the United Nations, according to a letter from their UN envoy dated Tuesday and seen by AFP.
The Palestinians, who have had observer status at the world body since 2012, have lobbied for years to gain full membership, which would amount to recognition of Palestinian statehood.
In a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour requested "upon instructions of the Palestinian leadership" that an application dating back to 2011 be reconsidered this month by the Security Council.
The letter has been transmitted to the council, according to the documents seen by AFP.
Mansour has repeatedly said in recent months that in the face of Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip, in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas, UN membership was a priority for the Palestinians.
Any request to become a UN member-state must first be recommended by the council, then endorsed by a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly.
The 2011 application, launched by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, never came before the Security Council for a vote, and the General Assembly voted to grant the Palestinians observer status in November 2012.
Observers believe the Palestinian push for membership is unlikely to reach the assembly as the United States, Israel's closest ally, could use its Security Council veto power to derail the recommendation.
The League of Arab States, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement sent a letter to Guterres on Tuesday, also seen by AFP, supporting the bid by the Palestinians.
"We wish to bring to your attention that, as of this date, 140 Member States have recognized the state of Palestine," said the joint letter, which included a list of those countries.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
India Sends First Tranche Of $2.5 Million For Palestinian Refugees Father, Daughter Die At National Park In US After Running Out Of Water In Extreme Heat US Airline Apologises Amid Row Over Cabin Crew Wearing Palestine Flag Pin What Trump Rally Shooter Did On Last Day Of His Life Meet Indian-Origin Usha Chilukuri Vance, Wife Of Trump's Vice President Pick Karnataka's 100% Quota Bill For Kannadigas In Private Firms For These Posts Elon Musk To Move Companies Out Of California Over Transgender Law Four In Five Americans Fear Country Is Sliding Into Chaos: Polls Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Launched In India; Prices Start At Rs. 2.39 Lakh Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.