Apparently concerned that Palestinian statehood could become an election issue in the United States, the White House is reportedly putting pressure on the leadership of the Palestinian Authority, asking them to delay their statehood bid at the UN until after the November US vote.
The Palestinians are seeking “non-member state” status at the UN, an upgrade from their current status as a non-state “observer.” Israel has loudly objected to the idea of Palestinian statehood recognition, and the US has promised repeatedly to veto the effort.
It isn’t clear why this would be a problem for Obama’s reelection campaign, since he and opponent Mitt Romney are both trying to prove their unquestioning dedication to Israel’s current government on all issues, but trying to “punt” issues into the period after the election has become a regular part of administration policy, with Obama also pressing Russia to stop complaining about the NATO missile shield until after the vote, and Syrian rebel lobbyists claiming the administration had told them there would be no military action until after the January inauguration.
The Palestinians have been seeking this bid for a solid year now, trying to secure a solid majority of UN Security Council members in the hope of shaming the US into not vetoing the project. It isn’t clear which side has the majority, but it is likely to be close.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas is opposed to delaying the vote any further, saying that there will always be obstacles which people will use as excuses for delay, and with the peace process still frozen they can’t afford to simply wait.
Oh horse hockey! Abbas SHOULD go full ahead on and demand their rightful place among the "community of nations." It's become way beyond nauseating to watch Obama and Romney grovel before the Israelis.
Gosh that reminds me, are Obama and the Mittmeister running for president of these United States or running for lickspittle deluxe of Israel?
Skulz,
It's the latter.
This man been in the office almost 4 years and have done nothing for the Palestinians, is been busy planing the war in Syria making sure that people of middle east have another decades of wars on their hand to deal with..,and in Libya and elsewhere in Africa.., so what he is asking is for him to do nothing for another 4 years because he is powerless when it comes to Israel, he needs every vote that AIPAC can throw at him, because his senators are bounded by being double agents Israelis and so goes for the majority in US democratic party.
Increase pressure on the US election . . . more and more pressure until the US cracks and dissolves.
If Palestinians press the issue in the General Assembly they might well hurt Obama in the election, which would be a serious mistake for them since President Adelson would take an extremely dim view.
Makes me think – How do Americans feel when they vote for Israel's interests rather than their own well-being? And most important, how do they feel when their leaders are openly fighting each other to appease a foreign state?
Where have we heard this before ? The Palestinians have to live on promises (and they're hardly even that) while the Israelis feast on Power.
Let's put all world business and affairs on hold until after the US election. And if we reciprocate such a favor from other countries, we will wait until their is some lull in elections around the world. Give me a break. Exceptionalism can just go too far.
Americans believe they are a free and no nation on earth can invade or occupy them. The truth is that Israel has long invaded and occupied the US without even fireing a single shot. Keep on sleeping citizens of the United Slaves, you have to pay for health care and education while the Israelies get everything free with your money. Sweet American Dreams.
Yeah, and then, delay some more (the next four years) while we "elect" local, state,and consequently
presidential candidates and – more groveling to Israel and more tax dollars are promised and
asses kissed…, yeah.
A couple of "read between the lines" type of points:
The very fact that Obama is asking should tell the Palestinians that they have some leverage over Obama. Which means that now is better than later.
And, the leverage comes from Obama won't say out loud. That the activist part of the Democratic base has been shifting more and more to a pro-palestinian view. This of course can't be said on TV, and Obama won't admit it out loud. But its there and its been growing for awhile now.
Right now is the time when Obama and the Dem noise machine are working hard to keep any third party or independent campaigns from catching fire and growing. And the sort of people who would be the early adopters who'd leave the pro-war, pro-Israel Dems would be the very people who would be upset if Obama had to announce he was going to veto a Palestinian state resolution. The Romney campaign would of course be screaming at him for any hesitation in loudly proclaiming he'd veto such a resolution, but when Obama forcefully declares he'll support Israel over Palestine, that's when a few more of the awake people on the left say they won't support the Dems and look for other options.
For any sort of grassroots or populist campaign to succeed, it needs to start snowballing now. Obama's trying to avoid an issue that might create a little snowball rolling down the hill. Which is why the Palestinians should be doing everything they can to exploit this and pressure Obama. Because as soon as the election is won, or even as soon as its really too late for another campaign to grow into a challenge, the Obama will have no problem going to 110% mode in supporting Israel on this.
"It isn’t clear why this would be a problem for Obama’s reelection campaign, since he and opponent Mitt Romney are both trying to prove their unquestioning dedication to Israel’s current government on all issues…." He is afraid that AIPAC will come down hard on him even if there's a hint that he might do something positive for the Palestinians. Obama is just playing a delaying tactic, and in reality all he cares about is to get reelected.
What a guy! He never ceases to disappoint. He's become every bit as predictable as his predecessor.