The U.N. Will Recognize a Palestinian State and Expose America’s Obstructionism
by: David Harris-Gershon on August 29th, 2011 | 6 Comments »
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks at the 2007 World Economic Forum during a session entitled "Enough is Enough - Israel and the Palestinian Territories." Photo by the World Economic Forum.
According to a classified cable obtained by Haaretz, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, has informed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that Israel has no chance of preventing the U.N. General Assembly from recognizing Palestine as a state.
Prosor’s assessment is consistent with what has been observed for some time: that only a handful of U.N. member states plan to vote against the Palestinian initiative in the General Assembly, with an expected 130-140 countries voting in favor. And among Western nations, only five so far have pledged to vote against recognition of a Palestinian state: Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and the United States.
Of those five countries, which nation stands alone in refusing to consider changing its voting stance if the Palestinians include language indicating a continued commitment to peace talks with Israel in its U.N. bid? The United States.
America’s isolation is stunning. But it gets worse.
The United States is the only country currently standing in the Palestinian Authority’s way in its push to attain full U.N. member status for Palestine. In order to become a full U.N. member state, the Palestinians must go through the U.N. Security Council (UNSC), which consists of 15 nations, five of which have veto powers. One of those five nations, China, recently stated publicly that it would vote in favor of Palestinian statehood in the UNSC. However, the Obama administration has made clear that it intends to veto any efforts by the PA in the UNSC, effectively blocking any chance for Palestine to become a state according to international law. (For U.N. resolutions dealing with statehood to be legally binding, they must first be passed by the UNSC.)
What remains uncertain is whether or not Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will formally go to the UNSC first and force the U.S. to cast its veto vote. Such a move would certainly be bold, for it would be done with the sole intention of highlighting America’s obstructionist and isolationist stance toward Palestinian statehood as the entire world watches.
While it’s unclear if Abbas will test the U.S. in this way, what is certain is that Abbas will seek a vote in the General Assembly for a nonbinding resolution calling upon the international community to recognize Palestine as a state. Such a resolution, while having no legal force, will almost certainly pass (with a U.S. “no” vote), and will be a symbolic victory for the Palestinians in the face of American opposition.
With peace talks between the PA and Israel stalled largely due to Netanyahu’s intransigence, and with settlement construction continuing apace, eating away at more and more of Palestinian land in the West Bank, the Palestinians had to make a move. And considering that the U.N. is the traditional forum where such issues can be resolved, it’s entirely appropriate for Abbas to be seeking statehood through the U.N.
What is entirely inappropriate, in my opinion, is the level of American obstructionism. The Obama administration claims that it cannot support such a unilateral move by the Palestinians. However, seeking statehood through the U.N., when all other options have been exhausted, is a multilateral move. The irony is that Israel’s continued, illegal settlement construction is unilateral, and yet this construction evokes from America nothing more than rhetorical slaps on the wrist.
The PA’s chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, has argued that U.N. membership could actually enhance the chances for a peaceful settlement with Israel in that it would legally force geopolitical issues, such as the occupation and settlements, to be resolved.
The Obama administration disagrees.
What happens after the U.N. vote is anyone’s guess, as not many parties seem to have thought through this process entirely, including the Palestinians.
However, whatever happens, one thing is sure: America will be on the outside looking in.
Add your voice to Tikkun’s petition for the recognition of Palestine by the U.N.
The mafia commission was multilateral too. Same thing has the UN, a bunch of criminals.
As an American my country is shaming caring Americans. We are all God’s CHOSEN PEOPLE!!!!!
I think it would have been far more skillful politically for Israel to have recognized a Palestinian State after the Yom Kippur War, given it no economic aid, and watched it fall apart with its own political contradictions. When the Soviets cut off aid, like with Cuba, Palestine would have had to recognize the legitimacy of the State of Israel and deal with a real political solution. Refusing to recognize what has the obvious characteristics of a “nation state” has been a serious strategic error and leaves Israel wide open for the criticism and isolation with which it has to live. I think the current hiatus serves no one.
Hello:
I came here from alternet where this article was hosted and I wanted to comment in the original site where the author wrote. I was pleasantly surprised that a Jewish site in America is supporting the Palestinian cause
There are a few issues that the author misses….
a: There is a strong support from the Pentagon for the Palestinians – more because of their involvement in Mideast – and there is a major pressure on the Obama administration to support the Palestinians. I will not be surprised of some General speaks out on this.
b: Israel’s fundamental problem, as once noted by a Israeli newspaper Haaretz, is that it really does not know what it wants. On the contrary, the Palestinians know what they want.
c: Israel’s major sin is that it modelled its occupation as dependent in the subservience of the Palestinians. It takes it’s water and control Jodron River valley in the name of defense. Accordingly, they keep on saying that supporting Palestinians means supporting the destruction of. Te world is silent of this “if you do not support us then you are an antisemitic”.
I hear that Israel’s continued settlement building in the West Bank is and obstacle to peace. Also that the Obama administration probable “no” vote in the UN is an obstruction to peace.
A majority of Palestinians voted for Hamas in the last election and Hamas not only doesn’t recognized Israel as a state but is also committed to it’s destruction.
Could this be considered an obstacle to peace as well as an obstacle to Palestine being a successful, peaceful state and a good neighbor? If so, is just a minor obstacle compared to the others and needn’t be mention here?
President Obama and Secretary Clinton must set aside their desire to appease Israel for fear of losing the campaign contributions of the wealthy Israel Lobby, and make the honest decision to recognize Palestiine
as an independent state.