FROM THE GUARDIAN dated November 11, 2011 The UN security council on Friday put off a decision on admitting Palestine as a state while the Palestinian leadership considers whether to press for a vote it is all but certain to lose. The UN went through the ritual of adopting a confidential report from the admissions committee which is the security council in another guise that was unable to reach a common position on whether to recognise a Palestinian state in the face of strong US opposition. But a vote was put off while the Palestinians decide whether to press the issue after concluding that they do not have enough support in the security council even to claim a moral victory in the face of a US pledge to veto recognition of a state. The Palestinians appear able to muster only eight of the nine votes they need to win approval after France joined Britain in saying it would abstain even though Paris last week backed recognition of a Palestinian state by Unesco. That would save the US having to wield its veto and deny the Palestinians the moral victory they hoped to take to a UN general assembly vote where they are expected to win the lesser position of enhanced observer status. One option under consideration by the Palestinians is to force the vote anyway and let the US, Britain and France, among other countries, explain why they have not supported it. But there is also a view within the Palestinian Authority that it may be better to go direct to the general assembly where support is assured and they will avoid antagonising the US and Europe. One diplomatic source at the UN said he expects that there will be no decision on the next move until the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, meets the Arab League on Wednesday. The Portuguese ambassador, José Filipe Moraes Cabral, who is the security council president, suggested that it was in no hurry to get to a vote. He said the council faces a "very busy workload" and has yet to decide when it will meet to discuss the application. "We're consulting with other members of the council and other interested parties and then we'll see the way forward," he said. The eight security council members expected to back the Palestinian bid are Russia, China, South Africa, India, Brazil, Lebanon, Nigeria and Gabon. Britain and France say they will abstain on the grounds that recognition of a Palestinian state at this time would undermine the prospects for a negotiated political solution. Critics have accused the two security council permanent members of effectively siding with Israel because the peace process is dead in the water. Colombia, Portugal, Bosnia and Germany are also not expected to support the Palestinian application.
This is a huge relief for the US government which may even save some of its reputation on middle eastern affairs, if it still has any credibility on the matter. Yet, the US government should still put more thought into its refusal to equally accept both nations and its unconditional support for one side of the conflict.
Veto or no veto, the damage to US of AIPAC credibility is done. The security council division is roughly along global political lines, with the old powers, the Western bloc , opposing tomorrow's world leaders. The Palestinians should continue with the voting application as embarrassing France and the UK is important to their support from States of the ' new order '. They will sweep the General Assembly anyway- a democratic chamber with no veto- and their future lies outside of the sphere of Western influence. The Security Council membership changes. It will shed US of AIPAC supporters at one time or another. The vote can be taken again until the security council gets it right.
