The Palestinians look to have a stronger hand these days. In September, barring a serious Israeli offer for a peaceful settlement and an establishment of a fair Palestinian state, the UN will likely welcome the State of Palestine as a member who's territory includes all of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. This isn't being talked about much in the press yet, but Israeli leaders sound very worried.
“We are facing a diplomatic-political tsunami that the majority of the public is unaware of and that will peak in September,” said Ehud Barak,
Adding more weight is the surprise reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah:
The surprise reconciliation between the Islamist group that runs Gaza and Abbas's Fatah movement that exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank presented a new challenge for Israel as it mounts a diplomatic drive against a Palestinian campaign to win U.N. recognition of statehood ambitions in September... Next month, Netanyahu is due to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, a speech that had been widely expected to include new, interim steps toward a peace agreement.
Netenyahu's last ditch effort in coming to the US Congress may get him some public statements of support, but it likely won't change the underlying equation or the fact that the Obama administration wants Palestinian statehood sooner rather than later.
Many would argue that Israel had their chance to work towards peace and chose bulldozers instead. Personally, I don't see them making a serious peace offer that the world community can live with, although I'll be happy to be wrong. But as democratic uprisings in the region continue, it looks like the political tunnel is closing in around Israel and the light at the end of the tunnel is looking clearer and clearer.
If Israel doesn't propose a reasonable peace deal before September, it's likely the State of Palestine will receive the votes it needs to be recognized by the UN.
At that point,
Israel will be occupying land belonging to a fellow United Nations member, land it has controlled and settled for more than four decades and some of which it expects to keep in any two-state solution.
This is not a viable political situation for Israel to be in given the uprisings in the Mideast and the faltering of corrupt pro-US leadership in the surrounding region.
The next 6 months are going to be very interesting.
Updated by bill kramer at Mon May 02, 2011 at 08:34 PM PDT
After putting up with troll wannabee stalker volleyboy1 for the better part of a day (I guess he really hates Palestinians - wow - big shock), I'll simply update the diary as a response to their lies, attacks, and stalking. Volleyboy1 was asked to respond to the following question: Do you support the position that if the UN recognizes a Palestinian state, Israel should ignore their declaration and occupy Palestinian land? Volleyboy1, like his buddies, didn't have the courage to answer that question directly even though they do in fact support that position - so the conversation ended there.
Volleyboy1 and his buddies won't ever have the courage to answer that question because they know their beliefs are rooted in racism and a hatred for Palestinians that is inhuman. They can't admit what they advocate for explicitly, but their comments make it clear what they believe. Their cowardice is emblematic of the cowardice exhibited by many who simply lack the integrity to say what they really believe publicly. We can see their hatred in their comments, but they hide behind diversion and verbal abuse like sniveling children.