Good Morning, We’re Having a Palestinian State and Israel Kind of Approves
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at a rally supporting the Palestinian UN bid for observer state status, in Ramallah, Nov. 25, 2012.
Photo Credit: Issam Rimawi/FLASH90
In yesterday’s State Department press conference, Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland confirmed that the U.S. will be voting “no” on the effort by Mahmoud Abbas to raise the United Nations status of the Palestinian Authority so that “Palestine” will move from being merely an “observer” to what is known as a non-member observer state.
At this time, the only official U.N. non-member observer state is the Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, which is the representative of the Vatican.
Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas landed in New York last night. The Resolution endorsing the change is expected to be voted upon in the U.N. General Assembly this Thursday, Nov 29.
The government of Israel is adamantly opposed to the change in status for the Arab Palestinians, and is hoping that other countries will support its position.
But, in a surprise announcement, a top diplomatic Israeli official in Jerusalem told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday that Israel no longer intends to dismantle the Oslo Accords if Abbas goes through with his UN gambit. Technically, such a move negates the Oslo process, and Israel has long threatened to consider the Oslo Accords fully abrogated if the Arab Palestinians attempt to achieve results outside of negotiations.
It was not readily apparent what response, if any, the government of Israel will have to a change in status for “Palestine” at the U.N. But the announcement made Tuesday was in conflict with statements made over the past few weeks by Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman in which he threatened that the Oslo process would be cancelled if Abbas went forward with his effort at the U.N.
Thus far only the U.S. has officially declared its intention to vote against the Palestinian statehood resolution. Nuland explained the U.S. position to reporters yesterday, Nov 27:
We’re focused on a policy objective on the ground for the Palestinian people, for the people of Israel, which is to end up with two states that can live peacefully next to each other. Nothing in this action at the UN is going to take the Palestinians any closer to that. So yes, we’re going to oppose it because we think it is the wrong move. We think it makes other steps that might improve the lives of Palestinians and Israelis harder. Other countries will make their own decision. This is not a new issue. We’ve been talking about it for more than a year, and so we’re just going to have to see what happens later on in the week.
It is anticipated that Canada will vote against the Resolution, and Germany may abstain, but already both France and Britain have publicly stated they are committed to voting in favor of the resolution. Switzerland and Portugal are also expected to support the measure. No doubt the 57 member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation will all vote in favor of the measure.
Unlike a Resolution in the Security Council, in the General Assembly there is no such thing as a veto. A simple majority vote is all that is necessary for the measure to pass. Full member status can only be obtained through a vote at the Security Council. Last year Abbas went to the Security Council to seek full member status for “Palestine.” The United States, however, made clear its intention to veto the measure, and the effort was withdrawn.
After some badgering by reporters over whether the change in status would have any impact on the peace process, Ms. Nuland said, categorically, “We oppose any move in the General Assembly. We think it’s going to make the situation harder.”
And Abbas is going to the UN with the support from an unexpected source – longtime political rival leadership of Hamas is now supporting the U.N. bid. No clear explanations have been offered for this about-face. However, there are those who suspect Hamas anticipates victory over Abbas’s Fatah as the sole representative of the Arab Palestinian people. If so, then they will be the representative party at the United Nations.
It is widely expected that the U.N. Resolution will pass, but even if it does “Palestine” will not be a full member of the UN.
A draft copy of the Resolution, dated 26 Nov 2012, was obtained by The Jewish Press. The Resolution reiterates all of the demands the Arab Palestinians have made, with no concessionary language whatsoever, and includes demands for the release of prisoners, the “right of return,” the cessation of all Israeli “settlement” activities, including in “East Jerusalem,” that the capital of “Palestine” will be “East Jerusalem,” and,
the attainment of a peaceful settlement in the Middle East that ends the occupation that began in 1967 and fulfills the vision of two States, an independent, sovereign, democratic, contiguous and viable State of Palestine, living side by side in peace and security with Israel, on the basis of the pr-1967 borders.
The Resolution also calls on the Security Council to favorably consider the application submitted last year to the United Nations for full membership for ”Palestine.”
tell a friendAbout the Author: Lori Lowenthal Marcus is the US correspondent for The Jewish Press. She is a recovered lawyer who previously practiced First Amendment law and taught in Philadelphia-area graduate and law schools.
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9 Responses to “Good Morning, We’re Having a Palestinian State and Israel Kind of Approves”
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“But, in a surprise announcement, a top diplomatic Israeli official in Jerusalem told reporter at a briefing on Tuesday that Israel no longer intends to dismantle the Oslo Accords if Abbas goes through with his UN gambit. Technically, such a move negates the Oslo process, and Israel has long threatened to consider the Oslo Accords fully abrogated if the Arab Palestinians attempt to achieve results outside of negotiations.”.
Lori, as usual, I enjoy your articles. Let’s hope that this statement is none other than psych ops so as to not stop Abbas to make his bid so that Israel WILL consider the Oslo Accords fully abrogated. What we see in print is not necessarily what happens on the ground.
You R out of your mind NO!
You R out of your mind NO!
NO…..G-D determined a long time ago “where” the LAND of ISRAEL STANDS!!
NO…..G-D determined a long time ago “where” the LAND of ISRAEL STANDS!!
Psychosis has definitely set in.
Psychosis has definitely set in.
Its going to happen. Its in The Bible, it was prophesied thousands of years ago. But God knew beforehand. The UN will control the Temple Mount n will allow the Temple to be rebuilt. We can’t change the Word of God but we can be fore warned. The Anti Christ will go into the Temple n proclaim himself God. Read Daniel, The Book of Revelation. Its called the abomination of desolation.
Its going to happen. Its in The Bible, it was prophesied thousands of years ago. But God knew beforehand. The UN will control the Temple Mount n will allow the Temple to be rebuilt. We can’t change the Word of God but we can be fore warned. The Anti Christ will go into the Temple n proclaim himself God. Read Daniel, The Book of Revelation. Its called the abomination of desolation.
"President" of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas. Popular in the PLO and the world with his revolutionary name Abu Mazen. Provide, as I said, the financing of terrorist attack against the Israeli team during the Olympics in Munich `72, "doctor" of the Oriental Institute of Moscow in 1982 with a thesis:" The secret ties between Nazism and the Zionist movement, " view the Holocaust.
Mahmoud Abbas – the architect of the strategy for the destruction of Israel – not with one stroke, but gradually, in stages, like the creation of a Palestinian state is part of it.
this is sooooo bad! what the heck is wrong in europe? didn’t they learn from 2 wars?
Arafat's usual stepwise plan, right. And after that the PA will be able to drag Israel in front of the Internal Criminal Court. But wait – it must also mean that Israel can drag the palestinians there for every terror incident, every suicide bomber – where approximately half are from Fatah.
To put a tracer on all the millions of dollars that have been "spent" in the PA and how Abbas and Arafat become multi-millionaires overnight should keep the courts quite busy for a long time.
To put a tracer on all the millions of dollars that has been "spent" in the PA to fund terror against Israel and how Abbas and Arafat became multi-millionaires overnight should keep the courts quite busy for a long time.
They became millionaires overnight the same way American politicians do it…sticky fingers.
It is decisions like these that lead me to believe there really were aliens at Roswell, and that IBM did get all their intel from the alien spacecraft…
I pray to hashem that whatever happens, may He with be with the jews, His chosen. may we not be subjected to the laws of man or nature, only to Him who has given this land to the true descendants of Abraham. the jew. may every jew pray with all his heart that even if the rest of the world concedes to a palistinian state, may it never happen regardless of what the un tries to force upon us. every jew should do teshuva and pray to G-d with all our hearts that He save us from the muslim scorge that has infected the americas and all of europe and the rest of the world at large. say amen amen amen selah!
The Palistinians will by this action completely nullify the 1947 partition which gave Israel a much smaller territory than the armistice lines of 1948.
In addition Israel and the USA should cease to recognize UNWRA in the "Palestinian State" as there are no refugees in their own country.
The Palistinians will by this action completely nullify the 1947 partition which gave Israel a much smaller territory than the armistice lines of 1948.
In addition Israel and the USA should cease to recognize UNWRA in the "Palestinian State" as there are no refugees in their own country.