The Palestinian initiative to suspend Israel from the UN - report

In the aftermath of a military operation in Rafah, Israel assesses that the Palestinians will attempt an initiative that will signify freezing or suspending Israel's participation in the United Nations General Assembly discussions, as well as its ability to vote in the debates, according to an N12 report on Saturday.

It was also reported that a suspension of membership from the General Assembly is a complicated move that requires a vote by all members of the UN Security Council, along with a two-thirds majority of the assembly. 

Sources at the Foreign Ministry estimate that this is the path the Palestinians will want to take, per the N12 report. 

The fear comes amid leaks from political officials of the Arab League , and following remarks made by Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour last week, in which he stated, "Israel cannot continue to sit among us."

The Foreign Ministry’s legal advisers are working on a move that illustrates this to be fundamentally baseless, according to N12. 

Damaging Israel's image

However, whether the move succeeds or not – this is very damaging for Israel’s image.

A similar step occurred solely once since the UN was first established, according to the report. In the 1970s, South Africa's participation in the General Assembly discussions was suspended due to the apartheid regime.

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, said: "If they really try to promote the suspension of Israel from the General Assembly, then this would mean crossing a red line and Israel will have to react sharply and take unprecedented steps, such as closing the UN headquarters in Jerusalem, evacuating UNRA compounds, so that any country that considers supporting this move will know that it will only harm the Palestinian cause."