All Eyes on PA Statehood as Syria, Norway Move Toward Recognition

US Veto Looms Large, But Abbas Claims Ability to 'Circumvent' Opposition

The Palestinian Authority’s effort to shore up support for a September statehood bid gained another boost today with the formal recognition by Syria and comments from Norway FM Jonas Stoere that they support the effort to seek UN recognition.

The growing support for the unilateral move toward statehood comes as Israel once again announced plans to expand settlements in occupied territory, and with no sign that the peace talks are going to happen any time soon.

At the same time, any effort at statehood would be blocked at the UN Security Council by the United States, which vehemently opposes any Palestinian statehood that wasn’t endorsed first by Israel’s far-right government, many of whose leaders oppose statehood on general principle.

But while this veto looms large, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas insists he believes he can circumvent this with a call to the General Assembly. Though this would prevent them from being a full member, it could give them the de facto privileges of a full member.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.