The future of Palestine statehood: the UN vote

While it is likely that the U.S. will not support the upcoming vote, the E.U is likely to support the September vote on Palestine. In the Security Council the U.S. would not support full statehood for Palestine arguing it is not the role of the international organisation to determine this. Moreover, the U.S. has long maintained that Israel and Palestine must negotiate a solution directly. However, given recent developments in the Middle East (the Arab Spring uprisings) and the tone of Barrack Obama's recent speeches on the region, there is a view that a broadly worded resolution with "sufficient creative ambiguity" may gain support for a U.N. General Assembly vote that would grant Palestine non-member state observer status.

The E.U. would support this measure. It has long politically and economically supported a two-state U.N. driven position on Israel and Palestine. The E.U. consistently supports Palestinian state building efforts, such as those guided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. It sees Palestine's non-member state status as a positive political reinforcement of its economic development and sound economic management.

Morally, the E.U. support Palestine's position as an expression of self-determination. Further to have indicated moral support Arab Spring movements in other parts of the Middle East, it would seem hypocrisy to reject Palestine's request for non-state member status. It is also in Europe's interests to ensure a region that is stable politically, economically and in terms of labour and refugee flows. These positions were recently puts in policy paper published by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).

It is likely the vote will be held on 27 September. Many in the Middle East will watch it with anticipation.