By Daoud Kuttab

If the UN bid for Palestinian statehood has shown anything, it has reminded Palestinians of who their real friends are. It was clear, despite Obama’s earlier rhetoric that US would not move any direction that would upset the Israelis. But it was not only Washington and their British poodles (Tony Blair in the quartet and Cameron in Downing Street), even the French are not as close to being the true friends of Palestine as they would like to be seen. Sure Sarkozy wants to keep French business ties with the Arab world, so he looks for photo opportunities with the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. But when it comes to the true test of French-Palestinian friendship, the French aren’t fulfilling their part. Early information from the Security Council debates have indicated that the French will abstain despite voting in favor at the UNESCO vote, at which the US has no veto.

While the UN bid exposed the hypocrisy of the west, it marked the end of two important phases. Going to the UN marked the total failure of the negotiating process that began two decades earlier in Madrid and was followed by the Oslo Accords. The failure at the Security Council exposes the impotence of the international community.

Mahmoud Abbas has asked his top advisors to come up with a post-UN strategy. To the disappointment of some, the new strategy will not contain the option of dissolving the Palestinian National Authority. The idea has been debated a lot but has never gotten much traction. Repeated as late as a few weeks ago by senior PLO official Saeb Erekat, the idea calls for dissolving the PA and throwing the keys to the Israelis. Proponents of the idea feel it will change the paradigm by forcing the Israelis to pay (literally and figuratively) for continuing the occupation. While the theory sounds good, such an idea will have disastrous effects on Palestinians. It will reverse accomplishment institutional state building gains made in the past two decades. Ramallah officials are agreed on at least this part. Continue Reading »