A UN General Assembly vote Thursday will decide whether to allow Palestinians to raise their flag at its headquarters, in a move that, if passed, would allow non-state participants like the Vatican and Palestine to hoist their flag alongside the others.
The Palestinian state was upgraded by the international assembly to a non-member observer position in 2012.
Unsurprisingly, Israel has urged the UN body to vote against the allowance, but the numbers so far appear to be in favor of the Palestinians.
Here are four things to know.
1. To pass, the vote would require a majority of the 193-nation forum to agree. Each country counts as one vote, and analysts say this could work in Palestine's favor, since several smaller countries consisently support West Bank and Gaza initiatives.
2. If the initiative does pass, the UN will have 20 days to inact the practice. Meaning, the Palestinian flag could show up at UN HQ by the end of this month.
3. The move would not violate any standing UN regulations. In a factsheet about the bid, the Palestine Liiberation Front (PLO) points out raising the flag does not verge on the current UN practicee. Since "observer states" like Palestine emerged as a framework for countries like Jordan and Japan in the 1950s, the handling of their flags is not specified.
4. Raising the flag would be a symbol, not a solution. The PLO said it does not consider the request to be a replacement for an ongoing bid toward statehood, but a symbolic step toward becoming internationally recognized. Their factsheet reads:
The State of Palestine is a responsible international actor that participates in most of UN activities, has joined dozens of international organizations and treaties. There is nothing illegal about our request.
