The Palestinians are gearing up for a bid at the United Nations, and Israel is still working diplomatically to try and prevent the Palestinians from seeking a hardline UN resolution.
It remains unclear whether the Palestinians will go to the UN Security Council or the General Assembly. Full UN membership and recognition can only come from the Security Council, but the US has threatened to veto such a measure. A General Assembly vote would be more symbolic and lack the legal weight of a Security Council resolution, but the US cannot veto there. However, the Palestinians could only upgrade their UN status with General Assembly resolution—not achieve full membership.
That too could still be used by the Palestinians in a new legal and diplomatic offensive against Israel and codify hardline Palestinian positions, making Palestinian compromise in the peace process even more difficult.
The Mideast Update interviewed Israeli Prime Minister’s Office spokesman Mark Regev by phone on Thursday to discuss Israel’s concerns and response to the Palestinian plans. Click the link to listen to the interview: