Palestine and the vote on “non-member observer state” status

Tomorrow, the UN General Assembly will vote on the PLO’s bid to become a non-member observer state. Spain has said it will back Palestine, Germany will not and the UK has stated that they will abstain, unless assurances are made from Palestinian leaders to open negotiations and not turn to the International Criminal Court. France and Russia have already said they both support the bid, while the US strongly opposes it.

Elliot Adams, in his blog “Pressure Points,” however, questions the outcome of this decision. His main argument is that while the actual vote matters very little, it is what Palestine and Israel will do as a result: “Does the PLO, now called “Palestine” at the UN General Assembly, engage in “lawfare” against Israel? Does it rush to the International Criminal Court [ICC] to seek indictments of every Israeli general?” While the Israeli National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror has stated on Meet the Press that Israel will wait to see how Palestine acts after the vote and respond accordingly, Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz spoke out on the radio today saying that “surprises” are in store for the Palestinians if they proceed with the move.

 Only time will tell what ends up happening but the UN General Assembly vote tomorrow will certain have an important impact on the situation that is to follow.

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