Politico: Will Palestinians’ U.N. gambit backfire?

This upcoming week will be pivotal for the state of Israel. The Palestinians have already signaled their intention to ask for statehood at the U.N. next week. I fear this will serve as a catalyst for an even greater conflict. President Obama has thrown Israel under the bus repeatedly and the possible U.N. vote is the culmination of the public perception that he has left Israel hung out to dry.

Maen Areikat, the Palestinians’ top envoy to the United States, said the Obama “administration itself did not implicitly or explicitly, directly or indirectly; threaten to take any punitive actions.” This is a bombshell of a statement because it looks like the Obama administration strategy has not been as forceful with the Palestinians as it could have been. This, along with a 2010 speech Obama gave to the General Assembly, has been interpreted by the Palestinians as permission to continue with their bid for statehood. The Obama administration has said that it would veto a statehood vote in the Security Council, but the Palestinians can still ask for a vote as a “non-member state” by the full General Assembly. This is a pure diplomatic failure by President Obama.

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