The Kingdom has urged the United Nations to accept the Palestinians' bid for full membership in the world body and has also called for a curb on the veto power of the permanent Security Council members to enable the UN to play an effective role in bringing peace to the troubled parts of the world. Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal made the appeal on Monday after the United States pledged to veto the Palestinians' request for full UN membership and ahead of the Security Council's decision to hand the issue to a committee that will review the Palestinian application. In the appeal, the Kingdom called on all UN member states “to recognize the State of Palestine ... with East Jerusalem as its capital” following the “continued Israeli intransigence and disruption of the peace process” and to adopt reforms that include restricting its permanent members from exercising their veto powers on resolutions that have already been adopted by the Security Council. The appeal immediately recalls to mind Israel's belligerent attitude in continuing to permit Israeli settlers to build homes on Palestinian land despite pressure from then newly elected US President Barack Obama to stop expanding the settlements so that the stalled peace talks could proceed. It is ironic that, despite Israel's belligerence, the United States has publicly made its intention known that it will veto the Palestinians' application for full membership in the UN. It is, therefore, logical for the Kingdom to make a strong representation of the issue to the UN to force Israel to restart the stalled peace talks so that peace can reign in the Middle East. Prince Saud, as Foreign Minister, has articulated the issues very clearly, including the need to restrict the veto power of the permanent Security Council members so that the international body created to foster peace across the world can play its role righteously without manipulation. The reforms would be in keeping with the objective that the countries of the world, which were polarized during the Cold War, should now come together living in peace. __
