Portrait of Palestinian refugee girl Maha Hamad standing in front of her house in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern area of the Gaza Strip on 18 September 2011. Photo: PAP/EPA/Ali Ali
The Palestinians require a two-thirds majority from the assembly, or 129 votes. Given that 120 countries across the globe have already declared themselves in favour, it seems highly probable that the Palestinians will succeed.
Nevertheless, any membership proposal must then be ratified by the UN Security Council, the permanent members of which are the United States, China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom.
Speaking to Polish Radio this morning, Roman Kuzniar, advisor to the president on international affairs, was non-committal on Komorowski's stance, saying that he did not know which way Poland would lean on the matter.
Israel's government is hoping that the US will use its powers to veto Palestine's bid for statehood, if the matter reaches the Security Council.
Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas said Friday he will take the Palestinian request for full recognition as a United Nations member state to the UN Security Council on the basis of the 1967 territorial lines.
Israel has opposed any unilateral decision on the recognition of Palestine, saying that decisions could only be taken between itself and the Palestinian Authority.
Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, was due to fly to Poland earlier this summer to lobby on the matter. However, the trip had to be cancelled owing to Israel's housing crisis, which had sparked mass protests.
Israel regards Poland as one of its strongest allies in the EU. In February this year, Prime Minister Tusk was in Jerusalem and he declared that Israel “can always count on Poland.”
From Israel's point of view, the EU has not expressed a clear policy on the current Palestinian bid. (nh/pg)