Middle East Policy has been one of the world’s most cited publications on the region since its inception in 1982, and our Breaking Analysis series makes high-quality, diverse analysis available to a broader audience.
Middle East Policy Council
On September 23, the Palestinian Authority is going to ask the UN Security Council to admit the state of Palestine as a member of the United Nations. (Please read the transcript or watch the video of our recent Capitol Hill conference on this topic, which offers perspective on the many considerations of the two sides, as well as of Washington and the Arab world.) For the Palestinian people, this move is an attempt to deal with Israel on an equal legal basis. It may be ephemeral, of course, unless there are real changes on the ground: an end to Israel’s 44-year occupation of Palestinian lands and to discrimination against Palestinians in Israel itself. Even if hopes for human and political rights are not realized, however, the statehood bid at the United Nations will focus new attention on the topic for discussion among diplomats and analysts in the media of record. This may be particularly true if the PA is punished by the United States and Israel for this effort.
Direct negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, backed by the United States, have failed. They offered too little to the weaker party, which is now trying a new tack, one that is perfectly justified under the circumstances. The PA says it would have preferred a negotiated settlement and has only reluctantly given up, after two decades of trying. It knows that soon Israel-Palestine will be a land that cannot be divided, due to Jewish settlement building in the West Band and East Jerusalem and the high Palestinian birth rate on both sides of the Green Line. If a two-state solution is going to be achieved before it is too late, the PA must have international support.
Middle East Policy has been one of the world’s most cited publications on the region since its inception in 1982, and our Breaking Analysis series makes high-quality, diverse analysis available to a broader audience.
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Middle East Policy Council
On September 23, the Palestinian Authority is going to ask the UN Security Council to admit the state of Palestine as a member of the United Nations. (Please read the transcript or watch the video of our recent Capitol Hill conference on this topic, which offers perspective on the many considerations of the two sides, as well as of Washington and the Arab world.) For the Palestinian people, this move is an attempt to deal with Israel on an equal legal basis. It may be ephemeral, of course, unless there are real changes on the ground: an end to Israel’s 44-year occupation of Palestinian lands and to discrimination against Palestinians in Israel itself. Even if hopes for human and political rights are not realized, however, the statehood bid at the United Nations will focus new attention on the topic for discussion among diplomats and analysts in the media of record. This may be particularly true if the PA is punished by the United States and Israel for this effort.
Direct negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, backed by the United States, have failed. They offered too little to the weaker party, which is now trying a new tack, one that is perfectly justified under the circumstances. The PA says it would have preferred a negotiated settlement and has only reluctantly given up, after two decades of trying. It knows that soon Israel-Palestine will be a land that cannot be divided, due to Jewish settlement building in the West Band and East Jerusalem and the high Palestinian birth rate on both sides of the Green Line. If a two-state solution is going to be achieved before it is too late, the PA must have international support.