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Should The U.N. Grant Palestine Full Membership? 

Last September, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas requested full membership to the United Nations for a state of Palestine.

With negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders at a stalemate, is there another approach that could offer a diplomatic solution for peace?

President Abbas’ request has yet to be decided upon, and it is almost certain to be turned down. But a group of Middle East experts debated that proposal in the latest Intelligence Squared U.S. debate, facing off on the motion “The U.N. Should Admit Palestine As A Full Member State.”

Before the Oxford-style debate, moderated by ABC News’ John Donvan, the audience at New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts voted 37 percent in favor of the motion and 30 percent against the motion, with 33 percent undecided.

After the debate, 55 percent of the audience agreed that the U.N. should admit Palestine as a full member state, while 37 percent disagreed — making the side arguing for the motion the winners of the debate; 8 percent of the audience remained undecided.

Download the full transcript of the debate in PDF format