"Palestinians set to win statehood recognition in UN vote" is an
article published today by the Guardian.
"A resolution to change the Palestinian Authority's UN observer status
from "entity" to "non-member state," like the Vatican, is expected to
pass easily in the 193-nation general assembly. Israel, the US and a
handful of other members plan to vote against what they see as a
largely symbolic and counter-productive move by the Palestinians."
"Granting Palestinians the title of "non-member observer state" falls
short of full UN membership, something the Palestinians failed to
achieve last year. But it would allow them access to the international
criminal court and some other international bodies, should they choose
to join them."
"As of Wednesday afternoon, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Finland, France,
Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Spain and
Switzerland had all pledged to support the resolution. Britain said it
was prepared to vote yes, but only if the Palestinians fulfilled
certain conditions. Diplomats said the Czech Republic was expected to
vote against the move, although other Europeans might join it. Germany
said it could not support the Palestinian resolution, but left open
the question of whether it would abstain, like Estonia and Lithuania,
or vote no with the Czechs."
"Strong backing from European nations could make it awkward for
Israel to implement harsh retaliatory measures. Diplomats say Israel
wants to avoid antagonising Europe. But Israel's reaction might not be
so measured if the Palestinians seek ICC action against Israel on
charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity or other crimes the
court would have jurisdiction over," the article concludes.
The Telegraph develops the subject with an article "Germany to abstain
on Palestinian UN vote." The author of the article believes that
"Berlin's decision to abstain rather than to vote no against is a blow
to Israel, which has always counted on Germany’s full support. The two
countries have a “special relationship” rooted in reconciliation and
reparation agreements following the Nazi Holocaust." He also predicts
that Britain will be "likely to abstain, after insisting that it could
not support the motion without guarantees from the Palestinians that
they would return to peace talks with the Israelis."
