Arab League prepares to block Israel UN Security Council bid

The Arab League yesterday completed a draft proposal to block Israel’s 2019-2020 bid to join the UN Security Council, the Bahraini News Agency reported.

Israel is the only country in the Middle East that has never obtained a non-permanent Security Council seat.

According to the news agency, the proposal will be submitted to a general meeting of the Arab Parliament in order to adopt it.

In the session yesterday, the Arab Parliament also directed its speaker, Mishaal Bin Fahmy El Selmy, to “contact the UN chief and the high commissioner for human rights urging them to immediately intervene to stop Israel’s settlement-building and flagrant violations against the Palestinian people.”

Courting the Global South: Will Israel Become a UN Security Council Member?

Israel has been campaigning to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council which includes 15-nations. The Council has five permanent members: the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France and ten non-permanent members which are elected for two years.

The voting for Council members will take place in June 2018.