The leader of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas is adamant that come late September 2011, he will table a bid for the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly despite strong Israeli threats and US opposition.
The Palestinian Authority formally announced in June this year that it intents to formally apply for the membership of the United Nations since it could no longer wait for a docile peace process.ย
For the bid to succeed, it must be approved by 15 members of the UN Security Council and two thirds majority (about 128 votes) at the UN General Assembly.ย
But with Barack Obama publicly announcing that the US government will veto the move, it will be interesting as to what other major players like Britain will do. Any US veto at the Security Council means that the Palestinian Authority will have to request for a ‘non-member’ status at the General Assembly.ย So far the PA boasts that close to 120 members who include Turkey, Russia, France and Spain, are supporting the move.
Palestine is confident of more votes from Africa and Asian states. While in Europe, Israel has intensified its diplomatic efforts trying to woo the 27 EU countries to reject the bid. So far, Germany and Italy are the only countries that have openly declared their opposition although opinion polls shows that the majority of the people in the UK, France and Germany wants their countries to vote yes for the bid.
“Our goal is to create momentum against recognition of a Palestinian state in September by creating a significant bloc of EU states that voice their opposition as early as possible to unilateral Palestinian action,” wrote the foreign ministry Director General Rafael Barak in the cable, quoted in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
And in Latin America, many countries are undecided and the few remaining weeks will become vital.
The Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour is quoted by the media trying to lobby millions of Arabs across the globe to demonstrate on the D-Day in support for the bid.
“If hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are in the streets for weeks before D-day in Septemberโฆ supported by millions of Arabs in Arab capitalsโฆ what would be the argument of President Barack Obama in trying to disregard this wish?” Mansour said.
“Our strategy is to cross the two-thirds majority and to knock with force on the door of the Security Council to see if anyone stands against this,”ย
After waiting for 60 years, September 2011 is the month where Palestine is taking the bold step towards their bid for a full recognition of their state. Whether their dream will materialise or not, it is yet to be seen.
