http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/09/201192312433584593.html
Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, called for Palestine’s recognition as a full member of the United Nations in an impassioned speech last Friday at the UN General Assembly. He claimed that Palestine is willing to restart negotiations with Israel based on 1967 borders, and made it clear that Palestine’s bid does not seek to delegitimise Israel. Though Abbas’ request was for full UN membership, he also left the door open to membership as a non-member observer state. Talks start today and could last for weeks, yet the US government has threatened to veto the UN resolution at the Security Council, so the possibilities that the bid will be approved are scarce. Despite some clashes between the Israeli military and Palestinians in certain spots along the West Bank, Abbas’ proposal has increased popular support, whereas no signs of activism were reported in the Gaza Strip. The Hamas leader, in control of the Gaza Strip, has expressed Hamas’ rejection to Palestinian statehood via UN resolutions.
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I believe that Abbas’ resolve to achieve a Palestinian state is a great leap forward towards the end of Israel’s repression on the Palestinian people, though his proposal is not viable at the moment due to international law constrains and US opposition. In terms of territory, a Palestinian state built on current borders would be atypical; juridically speaking, the sovereignty of the Palestine Liberation Organisation is under question, for the Gaza Strip is governed by a political entity with a terrorist branch. Besides, Israel’s supremacy in today’s world order as the US’ major ally in the region hinders Palestine’s UN membership bid. Furthermore, President Obama’s incoherent policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has shifted from sympathy towards Palestinians during his presidential campaign to absolute rejection of statehood, most probably motivated by Jewish lobbyists and his ongoing campaign for re-election. Though Abbas’ bid is most likely to fail, the position that UN member states will take in future votes will be determinant for international relations in the Middle East, especially those concerning the Arab world.
We will have to wait and see, though the chances that Palestine will be recognised by the international community as a U.N. member state are, as you have mentioned, scarce; as if one of the permanent members of the Security Council makes use of its veto power, the demand is directly vanished (thing which the U.S. is most likely willing to do). But there is another question that should be addressed: if Palestine would become a member state, would it be able to fulfill the rights, obligations and purposes of the United Nations Charter? how could we know they would actually fulfill those principles? is there an intermidiate solution? (yes, they could be recognised as a non-member observant state, but again, we don't know if that will be enough for them). This seems like such a big issue with huge consequences for the international community and still we won't be able to know a clear answer anytime soon...
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