Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, said Israel will seek a seat on the Security Council for the first time.

Prosor told Reuters on Oct. 3 that Israel would vie for a seat on the 15-member panel, the U.N.’s most powerful body, for 2019-20.

“We’re going all out to win,” Prosor told Reuters. “It’s about time.”

To win one of the 10 two-year rotations on the Security Council, which also has five permanent members with veto power, Israel would need to secure two-thirds of the votes in the General Assembly, made up of 193 member states.

The Security Council has the power to pass binding resolutions backed by force.

Prosor said Israel would compete against Germany and Belgium for two seats allocated to the Western European and Others group, to which Israel belongs. — jta