The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is reportedly processing the Palestinian Authority (PA)’s demand for the UN’s recognition of Palestine as an independent member state.

Lebanon’s UN ambassador, Nawaf Salam, who currently holds the UNSC’s presidency, reported at the world body’s headquarters in New York on Wednesday on the status of the Palestinian request, the Associated Press reported.

He said he had referred the motion to the “the committee on the admission of new members” in the absence of any proposal blocking the process.

The committee, which is made up of the UNSC’s all 15 member states, will discuss the matter on Friday.

The acting PA ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, thanked the council for unanimously agreeing to take action on the Palestinian application.

"We hope this process not to take too long before we see positive action," he told reporters.

The acting PA Chief Mahmud Abbas presented the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with the statehood proposal on Friday during the UN General Assembly’s 66th annual session in New York.

Later in the day, the council met for only two minutes to discuss the request, despite it having evolved into a focal point of the session.

The PA has reportedly secured the support of ten of the UNSC’s membership with India, Nigeria, Gabon, and Bosnia most recently siding with the Palestinians on the issue.

However, the United States, among the Security Council’s five permanent members, which have veto powers, has vowed to thwart the bid. France and the UK, other permanent UNSC members, had also urged Abbas not to go ahead with the initiative.

Ron Prosor, Israel’s UN ambassador, also acknowledged on Wednesday that Tel Aviv was working on the side of the US to get the UNSC to either oppose the bid or abstain.

(Press TV)