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IQ2 US: The UN should admit Palestine as a full member state

17 Jan 2012

• summary
• speakers
• expert comments
• user comments

On September 23, 2011, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appeared before the U.N. General Assembly to request full membership for the State of Palestine. America’s veto power renders their bid largely symbolic, but there could be leverage gained – like indirect recognition of statehood – in the process. After 20 years of failed talks with Israel, can this plea to the international community be the only path left to a two-state solution, or have the Palestinians set the peace process back by bypassing negotiations?

Thank you to IQ² US for allowing us to use this video.

Speakers for the motion

• 

  Daniel Levy

  Director of MENA at ECFR and Senior Research Fellow and Co-Director of the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation

• 

  Mustafa Barghouti

  Palestinian democracy activist and member of the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991. He was a presidential candidate in 2005

Chair

• 

  John Donvan

  Correspondent for ABC News

Speakers against the motion

• Dore Gold

  Diplomat, Bestselling author and Middle East expert

• 

  Aaron David Miller

  Public Policy Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Chapters

• Introduction: The UN should admit Palestine as a full member state

  John Donvan

  5 min 19 sec

• Leaving Palestine outside of the UN is a dereliction of duty

  Daniel Levy

  8 min 5 sec

• Full UN membership will not bring Palestine any closer to sovereign statehood

  Aaron David Miller

  8 min 18 sec

• Making Palestine a full UN member state is in the interests of Palestine and Israel

  Mustafa Barghouti

  7 min 47 sec

• Admitting Palestine as a full UN member would cause chaos

  Dore Gold

  7 min 50 sec

• Questions: The UN should admit Palestine as a full member state

  54 min 31 sec

• Summations: The UN should admit Palestine as a full member state

  10 min 22 sec

• Final vote: The UN should admit Palestine as a full member state

  5 min 9 sec

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