NEW YORK (JTA) — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas formally applied for statehood recognition at the United Nations.
Abbas handed his application to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the morning of Sept. 23, shortly ahead of his planned speech to the General Assembly.
The request will to the Security Council, where it requires a nine-vote majority to pass. However, any of the five permanent Security Council nations can veto it, and the United States has vowed to exercise its veto.
In that case, Abbas has said, he will take his case to the General Assembly, where he will ask for enhanced status.
