Analysis & Commentary
A U.N. Vote: A Loss for Israel and a Humiliation for the U.S.
I spoke this morning with Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday. Before his testimony he went to the Middle East to glean information about the upcoming vote and the reaction of Palestinians to the potential for U.N. recognition of Palestinian statehood in some form.
Abbas Rejects US Corruption Allegations
The Palestinian Authority has received repeated warnings from the US not to pursue statehood recognition via the UN. Chairwoman of the US House Appropriations Foreign Operations Subcommittee, Republican Congresswoman Kay Granger recently sent a forceful message to President Abbas, telling him that “current and future aid will be jeopardized if you abandon direct negotiations and continue your efforts.”
At the U.N., a French Twist
The Palestinian drive for United Nations membership is backfiring on one of its most vocal early supporters, French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Believe It Or Not: U.S. Officials Are Now Praising UNESCO
American engagement just isn’t going well these days at UNESCO, the Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.
Beyond the Bid
Regardless of the likelihood of a US veto, the putative state of Palestine might not even meet all the international legal requirements to qualify as a self-created state.
Did the Palestinian Authority Think Through its U.N. Gambit?
But there are good arguments why that should come to an end if the PA gets its upgraded status from the U.N. Jonathan Schanzer from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies lays out several grounds for kicking the PLO out of the United States.
Fox News.com Live
How could the critical moment in Israelis-Palestinian relations affect the U.S.?
Hearing: U.S. Must Respond if UN Declares Palestinian State
But "Fayyad has been sidelined" by Abbas, who "has consolidated power, and… is now abusing it," said Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. One particularly egregious example is the Palestine Investment Fund, created in 2002 to manage and allocate money and commercial interests owned by the PA.
In the Market with Janet Parshall
Palestinian leaders to seek the UN’s blessing.
Mahmoud and the Wizards of Turtle Bay
At the United Nations last week, amid great fanfare and to thunderous applause, Mahmoud Abbas declared that the Palestinian people want a state of their own. The obvious question: What’s stopping them?
News Update
UN Security Council debates full membership of Palestine. What we could expect from US and some others.
Now is the Time for EU Leadership: Deflecting Palestinian Unilateralism at the UN
Commenting on the looming Palestinian unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) last April, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel said, "it is not certain that unilateral recognition will contribute to promoting peace."
Obama’s Push to Fund UNESCO is No Joke
There is little chance that Congress will amend the law so as to allow the flow of U.S. taxpayer cash to resume. But those supporting such a move got a boost recently when Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” did a segment intended to spoof the cutoff.
Origins of the Palestinian Unilateral Declaration of Independence
As of early September 2011, the Palestinian Authority (PA), under the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas, was set to bypass negotiations with Israel and attempt to declare statehood at the United Nations.
Palestinian Leaders to Seek the UN’s Blessing
Late this month, leaders of the Palestinian Authority are expected to issue a Unilateral Declaration of Independence and ask, in the words of PA Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath, that it receive “the blessing of the U.N.”
Palestinian Statehood and Durban III are Both Designed to Delegitimize Israel
Two United Nations-sponsored anti-Israel events will coalesce this week, which are largely — and mistakenly — being treated as separate developments.
Power & Politics
The ramifications of UNESCO granting membership to the Palestinian Authority.
Pyrrhic Palestinian Victory?
When the Palestinian Authority (PA) was pushing last month to receive $50 million in direct funding to help alleviate its dire fiscal situation, it received critical support from a seemingly unlikely source: the right-wing government of Israel.
Secure Freedom Radio
Is the upcoming United Nations vote to recognize Palestinian statehood a “grand deflection” to keep the world’s eyes off the true crisis of the moment, Iran? Claudia Rosett, Journalist-in-Residence at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, joins Frank to discuss the “raft of problems” associated with September’s UN General Assembly vote.
Showdown at the United Nations
As Israel has lately found itself on the receiving end of several dangerous surprises, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to get out in front before the next possible diplomatic catastrophe.
