In a weekend interview, an Iranian official described the effort as merely another step in a much broader plan. Mojtaba Amani, Iran’s ambassador to Egypt, openly conceded in an interview with Al-Watan al-Arabi, that the PA’s push for full membership as a UN member state “is a step towards wiping out Israel,“ and that ”the Palestinians must follow a correct example and complete all the measures to prevent the Zionist Entity from depriving them their rights.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s offers of concession, including compromises on language describing the borders of a future state, and describing Israel as a home for the Jewish people, have been reportedly rejected by President Abbas. At this point, said Netanyahu, “until I give the speech, we have only one choice: going to the Security Council. Afterwards, we will sit and decide.”