Palestinians all but certain to win formal recognition as a state at UN today
With most of the 193 General Assembly member states sympathetic to the Palestinians, the vote is certain to succeed. Several key countries, including France, have recently announced they would support the move to elevate the Palestinians from the status of U.N. observer to nonmember observer state. However, a country’s vote in favor of the status change does not automatically imply its individual recognition of a Palestine state, something that must be done bilaterally.
The Palestinians say they need U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, the lands Israel captured in 1967, to be able to resume negotiations with Israel. The non-member observer state status could also open the way for possible war crimes charges against the Jewish state at the International Criminal Court.
In a last-ditch move Wednesday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns made a personal appeal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas promising that President Barack Obama would re-engage as a mediator in 2013 if Abbas abandoned the effort to seek statehood. But the Palestinian leader refused, said Abbas aide Saeb Erekat.
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Moral: Terrorism, rocket attacks targeting civilians and suicide bombings in pizza parlors and on busses pays dividends.
Well done, internationalists.
Good Lt on November 29, 2012 at 12:24 PM
The United Nations was not created to be a majority-rules group of equals. It is full of tiny, backwards, third-world crapholes that can band together and try to pretend their majority of zilch actually means something on the world stage.
Disband this mess.
Living4Him5534 on November 29, 2012 at 12:25 PM
A state in three pieces?
That’ll work real well.
profitsbeard on November 29, 2012 at 12:25 PM
Heh. Now when they bomb Israel, it’ll be one sovereign state committing an act of war against another. Time to grow up and take your medicine, Pals. A rude awakening awaits you.
smellthecoffee on November 29, 2012 at 12:27 PM
Good. We can declare war on it.
davidk on November 29, 2012 at 12:27 PM
If the happens, then Israel should declare war on them once the first Pali rocket flies over their border, and bomb the crap out of them.
Ward Cleaver on November 29, 2012 at 12:28 PM
Once Pali’s get their state, all those terrorist and militias become the state army? Am I missing something or is this a double edge sword potentially inviting a much more serious responce from Israel when the Palastinian army starts launching missle salvos at them?
filetandrelease on November 29, 2012 at 12:34 PM
Joe Biden thought so.
Mitoch55 on November 29, 2012 at 12:35 PM
Israel is the only entity with the power to grant any special status to areas and peoples within their borders – the land belongs to Israel – they can manage it, and protect it in any way they choose, including removing any “palestinian” squatters whenever they wish, and by whatever means necessary. Period.
Pork-Chop on November 29, 2012 at 12:36 PM
Well good. Next time the “Palestinians” decide they wanna terrorize Israel, Israel can just declare war and ANNEX all of the tterritories.
eva3071 on November 29, 2012 at 12:36 PM
Big celebration in the White House I bet.
Axion on November 29, 2012 at 12:36 PM
What could go wrong?
vcferlita on November 29, 2012 at 12:43 PM
Brilliant – and here I thought I had an original idea – well done
jake-the-goose on November 29, 2012 at 12:45 PM
So basically, what the Palestinians have taught the world is that you can get what you want through violence.
Perfect.
The bombing begins in 5 minutes.
Defenestratus on November 29, 2012 at 12:48 PM
I disagree with Netanyahu. All of these baby steps will lead inexorably to the further softening of Israeli public opinion, and eventually to a WB Palestinian state, just as Israel’s desire for “normalcy” earlier empowered the Arabs in Gaza and S.Lebanon. The question is whether the Palestinians then provoke a full scale war, or content themselves by mistreating eachother.
Seth Halpern on November 29, 2012 at 12:48 PM
All this being said (up thread), what is the down side? They can sue Israel in the UN? The UN is 90% anti Israel as it is, clearly I am missing something.
filetandrelease on November 29, 2012 at 12:50 PM
I’m for moving the United Nations to some Muslim Country that enforces strict Sharia Laws.
SC.Charlie on November 29, 2012 at 1:02 PM
I have no respect for Palestinians or the International Court. This is insane, did Hitler win WWII?
SC.Charlie on November 29, 2012 at 1:07 PM
Morons, they will never see a day when they are out of court. Do not they know these two words (risking my banning for stereo-typing here:
Jewish Lawyers
Granted, they may hire their own NYU International Law schmendrichs, but Alan Dershowitz by himself could keep a plethora of cases unresolved in international courts for decades.
Good luck with that; they fell for the trap.
Shaughnessy on November 29, 2012 at 1:08 PM
Meanwhile the Syrian government is murdering thousands of its citizens, Egypt slips into becoming a dictatorship and the mad Mullahs of Iran continue to develop a nuclear bomb ………………. And, in school I was told that the Middle East was “The Cradle of Civilization”.
SC.Charlie on November 29, 2012 at 1:13 PM
War.
thebrokenrattle on November 29, 2012 at 1:36 PM