Win Certain, But US Keeps Trying to Persuade Palestinians to Abandon UN Bid

Canada Pledges to Oppose Bid, But 'Yes' Votes Keep Pouring In

by Jason Ditz, November 28, 2012

One day after France pledged to vote in favor of Palestine at the UN General Assembly this week, the support keeps coming, with Spain, Austria and Denmark adding their pledges to a “yes” side that now appears to cover virtually the entire planet.

Canada, for its part, has promised to be one of the rare “no” votes, which at this point looks like it will struggle to break into double digits when the vote takes place, likely either Thursday or Friday. The US has promised to vote no as well.

But that’s only if the vote takes place and despite repeated pledges from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to hold the vote, the US hasn’t given up on the idea of pressuring Abbas with meeting after meeting to withdraw the vote from consideration.

193 nations can vote in the UN General Assembly, and there are no vetoes. At present, the US, Israel, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy and the Czech Republic have promised “no” votes. The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which has 120 members, has unanimously endorsed the plan, which in and of itself ensures passage.

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