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Palestinian Statehood and the UN
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September 30, 2011
One of the manifestations of the ‘Arab Awakening’ has been the resolve of the Palestinians to surge ahead with their demand for their UN recognitions of their statehood, despite all the pressure and threats by the US and EU among others. Hillary Clinton rightly observed – “we are facing an Arab awakening that no body could imagine and few predict just a few years ago” The awakening has not only swept aside a lot of old perception but also the US influence in the region.

Obama Administration exerted enormous pressure on Mahmoud Abbas spare heading move for full membership for Palestine at the UN. President Obama in his speech to the UN General Assembly categorically opposed the Palestinian move stating “Ultimately, it is Israelis and Palestinians who must live side by side; ultimately, Israelis and Palestinians – not us – who must reach agreement on the issues that divide them”.

Israelis must know that any agreement provides assurances for their security. Palestinians deserve to know the territorial basis of their state.” He said the “question isn’t the goal we seek – the question is how to reach it.” “And I am convinced that there is no shortcut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades.”

Defying US and Israeli opposition, Palestinians asked the United Nations on September 23 to accept their application for membership, hoping that the move would re-energize their quest for an independent homeland after two decades of fruitless negotiations.

Addressing the General Assembly after submitting the application to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged Israel to “come to peace” and said Jewish settlement construction posed a threat to the Palestinian government and any potential two state solutions. “We extend our hands to the Israeli government and the Israeli people for peace making,” Mr. Abbas said.

“Our people will continue their popular, peaceful resistance,” he declared. “This (Israeli settlement) policy will destroy the chances of achieving a two-sate solution and … threatens to undermine the structure of the Palestinian national Authority and even end its existence.”

The US has threatened to veto their membership bid in the Security Council, reasoning, like Israel, that statehood can only be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties to end the long and bloody conflict.

The UN Security Council has began consultations on Palestine’s application for full membership of the world body, although a vote on the historic bid is not expected for week it could be week, even months, before it comes to a vote.

To pass, the Palestinians need the support of nine out of the 15 members of the Security Council. Six have already thrown their weight behind the bid; seven have not revealed their decision, while Colombia says it will abstain.

US President Barak Obama says the UN bid is an unrealistic shortcut that will not produce real and lasting peace on the ground between the two sides.

But Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, riding a wave of popular support unseen in the West Bank since the late Yasser Arafat, is ruling out new talks without a “complete halt” to Israeli settlement building.

While the historical move was made on September 23, the international pressure on Palestinians will not only continue but intensify. Mahmoud Abbas acknowledged it after delivering the letter to the UN Chief “The Palestinian people and their leadership will pass through very difficult times after the Palestinian approach to the United Nations through the Security Council to seek full membership for the Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital”.

Concurrent with the consideration of the membership bid by the security council the EU quartet led by Tony Blair former British Prime Minister – is seeking a formula that would allow for greater recognition of a Palestinian state while paving the way for direct talks which could satisfy the United States.

“What we will be looking for over the next few days is a way of putting together some thing that allows their claims and legitimate aspirations for statehood to be recognized whilst actually renewing the only thing that’s going to produce a state which is a negotiation directly between the two sides,” Blair told ABC.

The EU quartet plan envisages the new peace talks to begin within a month with both sides committing to seeking a final deal this year. Middle East envoy Tony Blair told AFP the precise timings would “give everybody a chance to test the sincerity of the parties.”

The Palestinians, who pulled out of the last direct talks in September 2010 after a settlement moratorium was lifted, argue that Israel has already annexed Jerusalem and has been stealing land for the past 20 years. “We’ve been negotiating a process that had no relationship to reality. That’s the problem,” senior Palestinian negotiator Hanan Ashrawi told ABC’s “This Week” programme.

Successful UN vote will not change the situation on the ground. Abbas and his colleagues have turned to the UN in frustration after years of failed peace talks with Israel, and they believe recognition will improve their position if talks resume. International bodies like the UN and the World Bank say that after years of foreign investments and aid, the institutions necessary for statehood are in place in the West Bank.

Fro Palestinians the UN request represent a new phase in their long struggle. Mahmoud Abbas however is conscious of the pyrrhic victory and will not like to antagonize US completely which means denial of 600 million in annual US assistance for the West Bank. The chances are Palestinian will be forced to come the negotiation table again with Israel and it would be repeat of previous sterile rounds.

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