Palestine seeks full UN membership to protect two-state solution: envoy

RAMALLAH, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations said on Thursday that Palestine is "making all possible efforts" to obtain full UN membership to protect the two-state solution.

The Palestinian mission "is working to convince the largest number of Arab and European countries in order for this endeavor not to be obstructed by the use of any veto," Riyad Mansour told the official Voice of Palestine radio station.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas raised the issue with U.S. President Joe Biden during his visit to the region in July, and with French President Emmanuel Macron during their meeting in Paris last week, and with King Abdullah II of Jordan in Amman earlier this week, according to Mansour.

The threat "to the two-state solution is still growing with Israeli practices on the ground, especially the construction of hundreds of settlements in the Palestinian territories," he warned.

"If the UN Security Council approves the full membership of Palestine, it will be a major practical step in protecting the two-state solution to end the Israeli occupation," the Palestinian envoy noted.

The last round of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, sponsored by the United States, broke down in 2014 largely because of their divisions on the settlement issues.

The Palestinians seek to establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as the capital, while Israel claims the entire city as its eternal indivisible capital.