THE Palestinians are certain to win UN recognition as a state, but success could exact a high price: delaying an independent state of Palestine because of Israel's vehement opposition.
The United States, Israel's closest ally, mounted an aggressive campaign to head off the General Assembly vote on Thursday (0700 AEDT Friday), which the Palestinians view as a historic step in their quest for global recognition.
The Palestinians say they need UN 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 and 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 on Wednesday, US 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.
List of shame (voted No)
usa
canada
Panama
Czech
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
Palau
Nauru
Israshit
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THE UN General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to recognise Palestine as a non-member state, handing a major triumph to president Mahmud Abbas in the face of fierce US and Israeli opposition.
Mr Abbas demanded the United Nations give a “birth certificate” to a Palestinian state and was rewarded with the backing of 138 countries.
Only nine members heeded Israeli warnings that the move could lead to more violence and voted against.
Australia was among 41 countries which abstained, after opposition from Labor MPs forced Julia Gillard to abandon plans to vote against granting Palestine UN observer status.
The UN vote lifts the status of the Palestinian Authority from an observer entity to a “non-member observer state” with the same status as the Vatican.
Even though it is not a full member it can now join UN agencies and potentially join the International Criminal Court.
Israel immediately condemned Mr Abbas's speech to the General Assembly ahead of the vote as “defamatory and venomous.”
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton slammed the UN vote as “unfortunate and counterproductive”, saying it “places further obstacles in the path to peace”.
But in the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinians fired in the air, whistled and embraced each other in celebration after the vote.
As the votes were cast, there was silence among the thousands gathered in the West Bank city of Ramallah, which erupted with cheers of joy and chants of “God is greatest” when the 138-9 approval was announced.
In a 22-minute speech laced with references to Israel's assault this month against rockets fired from Gaza, Mr Abbas said Palestinians would accept “no less than the independence of the state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
He added: “We must repeat here once again our warning: the window of opportunity is narrowing and time is quickly running out. The rope of patience is shortening and hope is withering.”
Mr Abbas said UN members had to “issue a birth certificate of the reality of the state of Palestine.”
US ambassador Susan Rice condemned the vote as “an obstacle to peace” because it would not lead to a return to direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.
“Today's grand pronouncements will soon fade and the Palestinian people will wake up tomorrow and find that little has changed,” she told the assembly, in a grimly delivered statement.
“This resolution does not establish that Palestine is a state.”
The United States blocked a Palestinian application for full membership of the United Nations that Mr Abbas made in September 2011.
The Palestinian leader did not make any reference to the possibility of joining the International Criminal Court - a major worry for Israel.
The Palestinians say 132 countries now recognize their state bilaterally and said the result was a boost. Several countries which do not recognise the Palestinian state, such as France, voted for the resolution.
But several European countries, including some backing the bid, believe the Palestinians should have waited until after US President Barack Obama installed his new administration and Israel held elections, diplomats said.
The Palestinian Authority and UN agencies that accept Palestinian participation could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in financing because of the vote.
US law prohibits funding for any international body recognizing a Palestinian state.
Washington has warned Mr Abbas he risks losing around $200 million in aid, which is blocked in the US Congress.
Israel is considering freezing the transfer of tax and customs funds it collects for the Palestinians, while one Israeli foreign ministry policy paper even suggested “toppling” the Palestinian Authority.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...n-un-recognition/story-e6frg6so-1226527261421