Israel Matzav

It's official: 'Palestinians' going back to the UN

The 'Palestinians' formally announced on Saturday that they will return to the Untied Nations, but this time they will first go to the General Assembly to seek 'non-member state' status, and then try to use that status to leverage the United States to prevent a Security Council veto.

The PA is hoping that a vote in favor of its application to the General Assembly, where the Palestinians enjoy the backing of more than 130 countries, would pave the way for taking the case back to the UN Security Council to seek full recognition of a Palestinian state.

Such a move would have no impact on the ground, but would go a long way toward furthering the Palestinian goal that any future state should be based on the June 4, 1967, lines, something Israel opposes.

A similar statehood bid by PA President Mahmoud Abbas at the Security Council last September failed when the Palestinians were unable to secure the backing of enough members to even force a US veto.

Malki said that Abbas, who is scheduled to address the annual meeting of the General Assembly on September 27, will file the new application.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has not decided whether he will attend the UN General Assembly meeting.

The general debate begins on September 25, the morning before Yom Kippur.

Abbas will not ask the General Assembly to set a date for holding a vote on the application, Malki said. By refraining from demanding a vote, Abbas is hoping to avoid a confrontation with the US, which according to top PA officials is strongly opposed to the new unilateral statehood bid.

Although Malki did not say when the PA would ask for a vote on its new statehood bid, he told reporters in Ramallah: “In the year 2012 we will achieve a state that enjoys the status of nonmember of the UN.”

Their plan - although this is unstated in the article - is likely to force a vote between November 7 and year's end. The Obama administration would be less likely to veto a 'Palestinian' application at that time because (a) Obama favors it and (b) either Obama will have lost the election in which case he will be a lame duck and will not care about the pro-Israel reaction or he will have won the election and be a lame duck in which case he will not care about the pro-Israel reaction. (Obama cannot be elected more than twice, so if he wins reelection, he has four years as a lame duck - someone who does not have to face a reelection bid).

What could go wrong?

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Campaign 2012, Palestinian state RIGHT NOW syndrome, United Nations General Assembly, United Nations Security Council

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:23 AM