We will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Palestine at the UN – Naseem

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, Ahmed Naseem yesterday reiterated the Maldives strong support for UN recognition of Palestinian statehood. He was speaking following the announcement by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that he will apply to the UN Security Council for full UN membership of a Palestinian state.

The Maldives has been one of the leading voices over recent months calling for the issue of statehood to be brought before the UN. The Minister expressed this position during his recent visit to Palestine and Israel.

Earlier this week, speaking at the UN Human Rights Council, Minister Naseem said: "Let us be clear, the Palestinian people have, like everyone else, the right to self determination - the right to a State of their own. They have waited long enough for that most basic of rights. When the Palestinians present their case to the UN, the Maldives will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them, and we call on all others to do likewise.

We do not accept that UN recognition of Palestinian statehood would harm the chances of a negotiated peace. We believe rather that it will help those chances by creating a situation in which two State partners can negotiate as equals".

Expressing similar sentiment, President Abbas today said that full UN status is a legitimate right for the Palestinian people. The Palestinian leader said he wanted recognition as a state within 1967 borders. This includes the West Bank - including East Jerusalem – and the Gaza Strip. All of these areas were occupied by Israel in 1967. Israel withdrew its troops from Gaza in 2005, but is still in control of its airspace and coastline.

Mr Abbas chose the bid for full membership over the less controversial option of asking the UN General Assembly to upgrade Palestinian status from observing entity to non-member. However, if statehood is rejected the Palestinian Authority could still pursue this option.