The United Nations partition plan of 1947 called for the establishment of two states, one Jewish and one Arab. Approximately 6 decades later, Israel is an internationally recognized country, while the Palestinians are still waiting.
Currently, the Palestinians are preparing a bid for United Nations membership; despite the inevitable opposition by Israel and US. Top Palestinian diplomat says that they will submit a bid for full membership at the UN Security Council on September 23.
United States will likely veto a unilateral Palestinian request for statehood on the grounds that peace should be obtained through direct negotiations between Palestine and Israel. They have a point. Unless Israel and the United States form part of the consensus, the Israeli-Palestinian impasse will remain stagnant.
However the anticipated veto might ignite a third intifada. Palestinian intifada were expressions of cumulative social frustration. Previous intifada was seen in 1987 and 2000 where Israel survived in an environment where Arab states were relatively passive. Now, the Arab world are exerting a larger influence on the region’s politics. Pro-Palestinian sentiment now exists beyond the Arab world where Turkey is leading the pact.
It seems conditions now are such that neither Israel nor the United States are in positions of leverage. If anything, both states should avoid aggravating volatile actors of the Arab Spring. Recent attack on Israeli embassy in Egypt should be an indication of what to expect.
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently said that recognition of a Palestinian state is an obligation and that the Israeli government's mentality was a barrier to peace in the Middle East.
It is interesting to see how the US reacts to an intifada if it was met with violence. US officials condemned the violence against pro-democracy protesters in Libya, Syria and Bahrain. Given Washington’s pro-Israel foreign policy, its unlikely that violent clashes in Israel and the Palestinian territories will trigger a similar denunciation.
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/what-statehood-means-to-palestinians-1.868553
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14895673
http://moroccoworldnews.com/2011/09/implications-of-the-veto-why-rejecting-palestinian-statehood-is-bad-for-the-us-and-israel-2/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/15/us-palestinians-israel-statehood-idUSTRE78E1ID20110915
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14951026
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