Israel Halts Payments to Palestinians, Adding to Fiscal Woes

All the countries that encouraged Palestine to break their promises can pay the Palestine Authorities bill now if they really care, but I doubt they do. Lip service doesn't pay the bills. If the world cares so much for the Palestinians then put up or shut up. oh... but they don't love the Arabs, they merely hate Jews.

(NYTIMES) RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian Authority, in over its head financially as foreign donors renege on pledges and local banks have reached their limits, has an even more serious money problem: Israel is refusing to transfer tax and customs payments that account for two-thirds of its revenue. For three weeks, the Israeli government has pointedly withheld the transfer of these payments, amounting to more than $100 million, to express opposition to the Palestinian Authority’s recent policy of pursuing United Nations membership and renewing power-sharing talks with Hamas.
The impact of Israel’s decision not to make its deposit could be devastating, according to Palestinian and international officials.
“With each passing day, the Palestinian Authority becomes weaker, and is fast approaching the day when it becomes completely incapacitated,” Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in an interview this week.
Oussama Kanaan, the International Monetary Fund’s mission chief for the West Bank and Gaza, said that unless Israel changed its approach, salaries due on Dec. 1 that support one million Palestinians would go unpaid.
“Part of the reason why people have not revolted is that there has been some progress and security, and the living standard has been going up,” he said. “But if they cannot get their wages paid and they have high expectations about independence, they will see this as a sign of weakness and incompetence by the Palestinian Authority.”
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations and senior American officials have contacted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in recent days, urging him to release the money. Tony Blair, the representative of the so-called quartet — the Middle East peacemaking group composed of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations — added his voice to the criticism on Wednesday, saying, “Only those who oppose peace and Israeli-Palestinian cooperation benefit from the withholding of P.A. funds.”
An aide to Mr. Netanyahu said the point was to “incentivize bad things not happening.” By that, he meant the Palestinian Authority’s pursuit of full membership in the United Nations and its planned talks with Hamas, expected to start on Thursday in Cairo.
But the aide said that if the Palestinians did not move to join other United Nations agencies — he said they had indicated a willingness to back off for now — and the Cairo meeting produced nothing more than promises of more meetings, the likelihood was that the money would be released by next week.
“We are trying to send a clear message,” he said.
Another Israeli official said that when the decision was made to withhold payment around Nov. 1, there had been several troubling developments from Israel’s point of view. First, he said, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority said nothing after a rocket from Gaza killed someone in southern Israel. Then Mr. Abbas seemed to praise the abduction of an Israeli soldier five years ago and said he would never recognize a Jewish state. Finally, the Palestinians joined Unesco — the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — a move that Israel rejected as another unilateral step toward statehood.
“We wanted to make clear this could not be business as usual,” the official said. “The idea is to influence Palestinian decision-making.”
The transfer of the more than $100 million a month is not, in theory, optional. It is mandated by the 1994 portion of the Oslo agreement. The money is made up of customs duties that Israel collects for Palestinian orders arriving here through Israeli ports, value-added taxes on major Palestinian purchases of Israeli goods and excise taxes on Israeli fuel bought by the Palestinians.
But the Israelis argue that by approaching the United Nations and engaging with Hamas, the Palestinian Authority is breaking its end of the Oslo accords, freeing Israel to do the same.
The United States has suspended tens of millions of dollars it has pledged to the Palestinian Authority because of Congressional objections that mirror those of Israel.
Israel has withheld payments before, notably during the 2001-2 uprising and again in 2006, when the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority and Hamas briefly formed a unity government. Foreign donors, mostly from the Arab world and the European Union, made up the difference.
That pattern has eased concerns here.
“The Authority has never collapsed, and it will not do so now,” , the chief executive of the Palestinian Stock Exchange, said in an interview. “The Arab Spring obliges the Arab countries to act in ways they are not used to. And the Israelis can rant and rave all they want. In the end, it is in their interest to help us.”
Indeed, it is widely agreed in the Israeli military establishment that a functioning Palestinian Authority is in Israel’s interest because, without it, Israel would have to police and provide civilian services to millions of Palestinians. But as the aide to Mr. Netanyahu said when asked about that, “True, but that is not our only interest.”
Relations between the two sides have deteriorated, and senior Israeli leaders, including Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, have publicly argued for withholding the Palestinian transfers. Mr. Netanyahu has not gone that far.
At the same time, the Israeli and Palestinian Finance Ministry panels working on the tax and customs transfers have recently made important strides together, reducing leakage and increasing revenues, both sides said.

...NO MORE MONEY FOR OUR MURDER...

Mr. Fayyad noted that since the Europeans were facing their own fiscal crises and the Arabs had not come forward with pledged donations, it made little sense to assume either would come to the rescue now. In the past two years, the authority has set up institutions as part of its ambition to be ready for statehood, and that has made fiscal reliability all the more important.
“If we can’t meet our contractual obligations, that has a chilling effect on the private sector,” Mr. Fayyad said. “This undermines confidence in the Palestinian Authority’s capacity to function, which has a debilitating effect on investor confidence. Like a family, a government can make do with less — but not a drop of two-thirds.”

Actually it is more simple then this. when Palestine unilaterally went to the U.N. to ask for statehood it broke the Oslo agreement. It isn't the Israeli opinion. It is a legal fact. The NYTimes is lying. They have no right to ask for funding if they broke their promises.

UN Security Council deadlocked on Palestinian bid

UNITED NATIONS (AFP)(EYE) — The UN Security Council is deadlocked on whether to accept or reject Palestine as a member of the United Nations, according to a draft report of a key committee obtained Tuesday.
"The committee was unable to make a unanimous recommendation to the Security Council," said the report by the committee on admitting new UN members, adding to the troubles faced by the Palestinian application made by president Mahmud Abbas on September 23.(More...)

it should not be as close as it is

Canada says it is cutting funding for UNESCO after cultural body admits Palestinians as member

TORONTO — Canada is joining the U.S. in cutting off funding for the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO because it approved a Palestinian bid for full membership.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Tuesday the decision is not in the best interests of peace in the Middle East, so Canada is freezing all future voluntary contributions to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Canada contributes about $10 million a year to the agency.
The United States has also announced it will pull its $60 million in funding from UNESCO, which depends heavily on American funding.
The UNESCO vote represented a fallback plan for the Palestinian leadership after its bid for U.N. recognition as a state and full membership in the global body foundered in September.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

LOLZ... hey AP, SUE ME!

Freeze would be ethnic cleansing says Boogie

The IDF's former chief of staff who resigned over the Gaza expulsion, and who is now number 3 on the Likud's list, has openly allied himself with Feiglin. And again Binyamin Netanyahu is not pleased about losing the loyalty of Ya’alon. 

“The demand for territory without Jews anywhere else would be called ethnic cleansing,” Ya’alon said. “We cannot accept a demand for ethnic cleansing in the land of Israel.”
Vice Premier Moshe Ya’alon came out fiercely against a reported proposal for an Israeli construction moratorium in Judea and Samaria Saturday night, calling the prohibition of Jewish building “ethnic cleansing.”

Speaking to a packed audience at Jerusalem’s Great Synagogue, Ya’alon referred indirectly to a Haaretz report that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is willing to freeze all construction on government land in West Bank settlements if Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas resumes direct diplomatic negotiations.

Ya’alon said that Israel was under pressure from people who incorrectly believe the cause of the Middle East conflict is the building of homes in Judea and Samaria. He denounced that theory as “a corrupt way of thinking” and explained why the true cause of Middle East instability was the Islamic fundamentalism emanating from Iran.

The vice premier expressed confidence that an International Atomic Energy Association report set to be released on November 7 would expose to any remaining skeptics in the international community the military intentions of Iran’s nuclear program. He said he hoped sanctions on Iran could then be tightened.

Ya’alon called the Arab Spring “a regional earthquake” that exposed young Muslims to Western ideals such as human rights, women’s rights, freedom of speech, and “the sanctity of life as opposed to the sanctity of death.”

But he said he was not encouraged by radical elements apparently gaining the upper hand in Egypt and Tunisia, al-Qaida infiltrating Libya and Iran attempting to export its Islamic fundamentalism throughout the Arab world.

He made a point of not explaining his vote against the Gilad Schalit deal beyond what he had said before about his heart saying yes and his head saying no.

“We should be happy about the reunification of Schalit’s family but prepared to deal with the consequences for the future as a government and a society,” he said.

Obama informs the Palestinians that he will veto their state at the UN

President Obama told 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen that the United States will use its veto against a 'Palestinian' effort to attain 'statehood' via the United Nations Security Council.

US President Barack Obama told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday that UN action would not achieve a Palestinian state and the United States would veto any Security Council move to recognize Palestinian statehood, the White House said.

"We would have to oppose any action at the UN Security Council including, if necessary, vetoing," Ben Rhodes, the White House national security council spokesman, told reporters after Obama met Abbas in New York.

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said that a vote in the Security Council is 'several weeks away' leaving plenty of time for diplomacy to avoid an American veto.

"It will probably take several weeks (before a vote takes place) and those weeks can be used to develop a strategy," Juppe told reporters in New York. The Palestinians are preparing to present their statehood bid on Friday.

Conflicting comments made earlier by senior Palestinian officials further added to the uncertainty surrounding the PA's UN bid. Nabil Shaath, a senior official in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party said, "We will give some time to the Security Council to consider first our full membership request before heading to the General Assembly."

An hour later, Saeb Erekat, a senior aide to Abbas and former chief of negotiations for the Palestinian Authority denied that a delay was on the agenda, saying Abbas has no plans to agree to a delayed vote. "We will not allow any political maneuvering on this issue," he said.

If a vote is still several weeks away, how will the 'Palestinians' know when to riot.

The French proposed a one-year map for 'Palestinian statehood' - that would work out great with Obama's reelection schedule.

But the real miracle here is that the World is finally starting to awaken to the reality of what a 'Palestinian state' would engender. This is from the first link again.

According to sources in the delegation, the Americans and Europeans are beginning to understand the harsh reality of the present Middle East. Israel presented a vast amount of intelligence information pointing to al-Qaeda's penetration in Egypt and the growth of radical Islam in the Arab country.

Diplomatic officials stated that Israel warned that Sinai could turn into a second Afghanistan. "The images from the storming of the Egyptian embassy in Cairo and Mubarak's trial changed the Western perception of what is actually transpiring in the Middle East," they said.

In consultations between Jerusalem and Washington, it was determined that Obama would clarify to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas the economic consequences of a unilateral declaration.

The US President will also demand of Abbas to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as soon as possible, and launch a direct dialogue.
(Israel Matzav: Palestinians routed at UN and Obama tells Abu Mazen he will use the veto)

Obama tries to make Netanyahu part of his reelection bid

(Israel Matzav) For President Obama. Wednesday's meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly went a lot better than May's joint press availability (pictured).

It should be clear by now that President Obama has told Prime Minister Netanyahu in no uncertain terms that he had better be nice to the President in return for American support at the United Nations. He has been told to praise Obama personally because Obama is in trouble with the American Jewish community which despite its relatively small electoral vote controls a lot of Democratic campaign contributions. And Netanyahu is playing along.

France Breaks With Obama on Palestinian Statehood Issue

(NYTimes) "Each of us knows that Palestine cannot immediately obtain full and complete recognition of the status of United Nations member state," Sarkozy said. "But who could doubt that a veto at the Security Council risks engendering a cycle of violence in the Middle East?"

How do you know that violence is inneivitable regardless of any vote? Palestinian Authority representatives in the United Nations are handing out maps of "Palestine" that show it in place of all of Israel, including Tel Aviv

The Palestinians currently have the status of an observer “entity” in the United Nations."Why not envisage offering Palestine the status of United Nations observer state?” said the French leader. “This would be an important step forward. Most important, it would mean emerging from a state of immobility that favors only the extremists.”

but the extremists are the ones from the Palestinian Authority handing out maps

Recognition as an observer state would not mean much here except for some procedural changes, but it would allow the Palestinians to join subsidiary bodies and treaties of the United Nations. Most Israeli concern has focused on the possibility that making the Palestinians an observer state could enhance their ability to join the International Criminal Court and pursue Israeli leaders through “lawfare.”

I had not even thought of that. Obviously the NYTimes is already planning their use of this upgrade

Funding the enemy

Like quiting smoking. You know it is bad for you, but you can't stop spending money on it There is a lot of social pressure to keep your former lethal habit going and you may not survive kicking the vice. I have a lot of empathy. I'd like to go to Israel, but I'm afraid I'm not ready... and I'm not sure Israel is ready to protect me either... or if I could protect myself from some of the leftist Israelis that I met in NYC or online.Sorry to make this personal.

(Caroline Glick) Cong. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a true friend of Israel. Her bill calling for a cutoff of US aid to the PA and a massive decrease of US aid to the UN in the event the UN upgrades the Palestinians' diplomatic status is one of the most important pieces of pro-Israel legislation to be introduced in the US Congress in a generation. By announcing it opposes an aid cutoff, Israel undermined Ros-Lehtinen's position. It betrayed its good friend. No doubt Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman were under great pressure from the IDF and from the Obama administration to call for continued international funding of the PA. But the public didn't elect them with the expectation that they would abandon Israel's national interest and harm its friends just because they feel the heat. (MORE)

Most Israelis Favor Annexing Parts of Judea and Samaria

(h/t 911) A “New Wave” poll reveals most Israelis favor annexing at least parts of Judea and Samaria if the PA wins unilateral recognition at the UN A “New Wave” poll reveals that nearly two-thirds of Israelis favor annexing at least parts of Judea and Samaria if the Palestinian Authority wins unilateral recognition at the United Nations.
. The poll, carried out for the national camp of the Likud party headed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, covered a sample of all Israelis, implicitly including Arabs with Israel citizenship.

In response to the question, “Do you support Israel annexing areas in reaction to the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state?” 37.3 percent of the respondents said that Israel should make all Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria a part of the sovereign state instead of leaving them under military rule, which is their current status. Slightly more than 12 percent favored annexing only large Jewish population centers, such as Maaleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem, and Ariel, a city in central Samaria. In addition, 11.6 percent of the respondents said they would support annexing communities in areas they consider crucial for security, such as those in proximity to Ben Gurion Airport, metropolitan Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. A majority – 56 percent – also said that unilateral recognition of the Palestinian Authority as an independent country would endanger the State of Israel. A separate New Wave poll, carried for the Yisrael HaYom newspaper, revealed that 71.3 of Israelis fear that Egypt will return to being a confrontational country with Israel. (Arutz Sheva).

What choice is there?

Palestinians to Obama: This Is All Your Fault

The thing is... it is Obama's fault for not realizing Abu Mazen AKA Abbas would twist his words. I wonder if Obama will start to realize what he is dealing with? An ego like Obama could very well do an about face with this kind of shenanigan. What is worse is the Palestinians aren't even taking Obama seriously. I almost feel bad for Obama and I suspect that Obama could surprise all of us and really get rough on the Palestinians. Don't mess with the OBAMA!

(Eye on the World according to the Jerusalem Post)

Zakariya al-Agha, the PLO's top representative in the Gaza Strip... said that the PA was going to the UN because US President Barack Obama, in his last speech to the UN in 2010, talked about the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state within one year.

The Palestinian Authority laid further blame on Obama by citing a last minute offer from the Obama administration to renew negotiations. Palestinian leader Nabil Shaath claims to have been so insulted by the offer that they made the final decision to go to the U.N. then and there.

what was it that Obama said?

“two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, as part of a comprehensive peace between Israel and all of its neighbors.”

The denied Correlative: Two States in Obama's mind should be negotiated and should not be forced unilaterally. There should not be a Palestine at all, but to act like as if Obama demanded a state without negotiations is a lie.

Palestinian Authority Threatens US Over Security Council Veto then KISSES E.U. ASS.

It does not seem like all the ass kissing by Obama and Clinton is paying off. They are getting poo pooed by the Arabs and the E.U. is getting all the respect. I almost feel bad for the Obama administration, but then they made their own bed and Obama was warned by many.

From this source (h/t Infidel Bloggers Alliance):

Palestinian Authority officials on Saturday threatened the United States saying vetoing its statehood bid in the United Nations Security Council next week would "destroy" the so-called two-state solution.
The warning came hours after PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced in a speech in Ramallah that he would ask the UN Security Council to accept membership of a PA state despite a firm US warning the move would fail.
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat warned a US veto would not only destroy the two-state solution, but could lead to the dismantling of the PA.
"Anyone who supports the two-state solution should back the Palestinian effort [at the UN]," he said.
Erekat hinted that if the PLO dismantles the PA, it would subsequently insisting on the 'right of return' for millions of 'Palestinian refugees' to Israel.
[...]
US lawmakers in Congress, over State Department objections, have overwhelmingly called on the Obama administration to cut funding to the PA should it present its bid to the world body.

So, what will Obama do now?

Obama won't get re-elected for sure if he supports Palestine. All the chips are on the table. My bet is that the Palestinians will go with the statehood bid, the Israelis will then end the Oslo agreements and annex Judea and Samaria and the Arab countries just recuperating from the Arab Spring will not have the ability to do anything about it. Turkey will huff and puff and then go backrupt

(EYE ON WORLD:) BERLIN (YNET) – Palestinian Authority envoy in Germany Saleh Abdel-Shafi claimed Sunday that the Palestinians will drop their bid to achieve full UN membership in exchange for European Union recognition of the PA as a UN observer state at the General Assembly.
"We are still negotiating with the Europeans," Abdel-Shafi told the Financial Times Deutschland. "We'll be willing to forgo the Security Council bid if European states support us at the Assembly vote," he said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has also expressed willingness to drop the Security Council bid in his Friday address but posed different conditions – Abbas demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recognize the 1967 borders and freeze settlement construction.(More)

The Israelis have nothing to gain by stopping house building. The left is complaining they have no place to live and are pitching tents all over Tel Aviv with European cheering in the media. I have no doubt the E.U. (considering their HITLEResque history) will continue to cater to the Palestinians,,, especially since most have now rejected Durban III and feel they are wearing their Zionist hats again. Those Euros don't mind throwing the Jews to the ovens as long as they can do it in a way that doesn't hurt their fragile egos.

Joe Walsh Israeli resolution being prepared

Palestine breaking Oslo presents a rare opportunity. The only losers in this situation would be those who think peace is possible with Arabs.

(Politico) ...Walsh is moving forward with his resolution after meeting last month in Israel with Danny Danon, a deputy speaker of the Knesset and Likud Party member known for criticizing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu from the right. Earlier this year, Danon introduced a bill that would annex all of “Area C,” a large portion of the West Bank [AKA Judea and Samaria] that includes Jewish settlements and rural lands but would spare the largest Palestinian cities. Danon’s now leading a campaign to pressure Netanyahu to move forward with the unilateral annexation. Walsh, who said he’d been considering a similar measure before arriving in Israel in August, confirmed that he and Danon “bounced some ideas off each other” on the resolution. Danon argued in a New York Times op-ed earlier this year that a request from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas [AKA Abu Mazen] for a U.N. statehood declaration would amount to a nullification of the Oslo Accords, which dictate that “neither side shall initiate or take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the permanent status negotiations.” That means the country would be free to annex unilaterally, he wrote. In the op-ed, Danon downplayed the potential international consequences by pointing to past Israeli annexations as evidence the country could withstand international condemnation.

Are you threatening me? Erekat says he needs Tee Pee for his bunghole, but Koch industries makes Soft n Gentle Toilet Paper

“Despite these threats, the Palestinians have informed the Americans that we will go to the Security Council to ask for full membership of a Palestinian state in line with Palestinian interests and because this is not a unilateral act,” Erekat was quoted as saying.

He added that after the UN vote later this month, the state of Palestine will be under occupation and Israel would be held responsible – according to international agreements and conventions – fully responsible for health, education, security and other things.

“The rest of the members of the UN would be obliged to help Palestine get rid of the occupation,"

Abbas says  accuses the United States of 'threatening' them into dropping their UN bid:

The US Administration is continuing to threaten the PA that it must abandon its plan to ask the United Nations Security council to recognize a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 lines, Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said.

Selling land to Jews punishable by death in Palestinian territories

Here’s something to consider as the Palestinian Authority takes its case for statehood to the UN.  As CSN reported: “Israel supporters are sounding the alarm on a controversial law in the Palestinian Authority that forbids Arabs from selling land to Jews.”“[Recently, in the Palestinian Territories] Mohammed, [the brother of a Palestinian named Abraham] was accused of selling a house to Jewish settlers. Just days after the new residents moved in, Mohammed’s dead body was found on the road between Jericho and Jerusalem.” “Abraham suspects someone killed his brother because of the belief that he sold a house to Jews.” H/T Israel Matzav and Comment is Free Watch

Jordan will vote against a Palestinian Nation?

The Guardian reports that the 'Palestinians' may be looking for a way out of the 'statehood' trap

Some Palestinian observers believe the PA leadership, despite its robust statements committing to the UN approach, may also be quietly seeking a way to "climb down the tree".

A Kuwaiti paper reported last week that Jordan will vote against the creation of a 'Palestinian' reichlet if it comes up for a vote in the UN General Assembly in September.

On the other hand, Jordan is nearing a crossroads in its attitude toward the Palestinians. In my book, The Political Legacy of King Hussein (2004), I analyze the advantages that Hussein could have found in losing of the West Bank to Israel.
First and foremost, Israel would be in charge of resolving the Palestinian issue, and the Palestinians would not be in a position to claim Jordan as a Palestinian state.
In recent months, Israel seems to have divorced itself from its traditional policy of resisting a Palestinian state at all costs.
In the Jordanian mind, this translates to a position that might endanger the very existence of the Hashemite Kingdom, as well as the 1994 Israeli-Jordanian Peace Treaty, and a de-facto abandonment of the traditional friendship between the two countries that has survived many crisis since 1960.
Jordan has tried (and usually succeeded) in letting Israel lead the way against the creation of a Palestinian state. However, Israel is now seen as being too weak to halt a Palestinian independence process. The creation of such a state would put Jordan’s very existence in jeopardy: The PLO is formally and spiritually committed to taking over all of mandatory Palestine – i.e., Jordan, the territories and Israel. Considering that Israel would hold its ground within the 1967 lines, the next target of a small, economically weak, irredentist Palestinian state would be Jordan – a country that has already served as a battleground for the PLO in 1970-71.
If, indeed, this is the current Jordanian reading, it follows that the US and Israel are seen as weak players that cannot be trusted to support the kingdom.
That reading sounds pretty accurate to me. Read the whole thing.

via israelmatzav.blogspot.com

It would be easier for everyone if the Arabs just clarified the words of Mohammad and said Palestine was not the goal. The goal is to kill the Jews in Israel because Islamic texts say that is what will happen.

Palestinians may give up on bid for full UN membership to avoid U.S. veto, sources say

Wishing to avoid an American veto at the Security Council, the Palestinian Authority is considering turning directly to the United Nations General Assembly in September in order to gain international recognition of Palestinian statehood.

	Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends a meeting of the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah AP

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
attends a meeting of the Palestinian leadership
in Ramallah AP

Palestinian sources and European diplomats say that the Palestinians will give up their effort to be accepted as a full member of the UN - a move that would require approval by the Security Council - and will seek instead recognition by the General Assembly of a Palestinian State within the 1967 borders, which will not be a full member of the organization. via haaretz.com

Following the failed meeting of the Quartet foreign ministers in Washington last week, the Palestinians recognized that the United States will veto any resolution that will be brought before the UN Security Council for unilateral Palestinian statehood. Moreover, the Palestinians have also concluded that turning to the Security Council with a request for full membership in the UN is a more complicated proposition, largely because of time constraints. Palestinian sources and European diplomats said that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his aides are increasingly leaning toward a direct appeal to the General Assembly of the international organization. Even though the assembly lacks the authority to offer the Palestinians full UN membership, at the General Assembly the United States is unable to use its veto power against resolutions brought before the plenum for a vote. Also, the Palestinians would like the vote to take place during the General Assembly in the last week of September, and for this there is no need for a great deal of preparation. The vote at the General Assembly could be called with as little as 24 hours notice. A vote at the General Assembly is expected to end with a Palestinian victory and a large majority, as some 140 member states are expected to support recognition of a Palestinian state. Even though a General Assembly resolution is "weaker" than one by the Security Council, the Palestinians are comparing such a decision to Resolution 181 of November 29, 1947, in which the General Assembly approved the plan to partition Palestine. Senior Palestinian officials say that without the decision on dividing Palestine in 1947, Israel would not have had the international legitimacy to declare independence in May 1948.

Except that Israel could have done whatever it wanted in 1948 because the Arabs (there were no 'Palestinians' in 1948) rejected the partition plan and determined to drive the Jews into the sea. Moreover, Israel was admitted by the Security Council in 1949. more via israelmatzav.blogspot.com

there was a whole lot of verbal attacks on the U.S. for this need for Palestine to settle for less.  Catherine Ashton who is the foreign policy head of the E.U. and a member of labor in the U.K. tried to put forward a version that was rejected by the Muslim Arabs for 6o years and would of ignored G W Bush's promises of facts on the ground to Ariel Sharon.

UN Security Council to discuss Palestinian Statehood on July 26: If the Palestinians #Israel #TCOT #P2

If the United States or any other permanent council member used its veto, the General Assembly would not be able to vote on membership for Palestine. The UN Security Council plans to discuss in July the possibility of Palestine becoming a United Nations member state, the Security Council president said on Tuesday. Any recommendation for admission must receive the affirmative votes of 9 of the 15 members of the Council, provided that none of its five permanent members — China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America — have voted against the application. ...The Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators - the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations - are expected to meet on July 11. The meeting, expected to take place in Washington, will come amid a US push to revive peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. UN Security Council to discuss Palestinian Statehood on July 26 h/t Challah ...

Unilateral State: Israel would no longer collect Value Added Tax on behalf of the Authority

...and that would mean that the immense monthly fund transfers to the PA and to Gaza shall draw to an end. The Oslo Accords shall be annulled! Why is almost everything more expensive in Israel?

Israel’s consumer markets resemble the European model. A  value-added-tax (VAT) of 16 percent is either added to or included in  every transaction, and there are almost no exemptions. Import tariffs  ranging from 30 to 75 percent, along with transportation and shipping  expenses, also add to wholesale and retail costs.

Susan Rice: UN Recognition of Palestinian State = "Exceedingly Politically Damaging in Our Domestic Context

...Susan Rice and the Obama adminstration is very worried about losing Jewish voters in 2012, if the Palestinians are recognized by the United Nations.

Yet, in a video you see that Susan Rice is worried about something else; losing Congress' financial and political support of the United Nations; an idea first put forth by John Bolton and since supported by a number of different individuals in Congress.
Here is the important quote: And this would be exceedingly politically damaging in our domestic context, as you can well imagine. And I cannot frankly think of a greater threat to our ability to maintain financial and political support for the United Nations in congress than such an outcome.
The video was censored; the quote appears around the 6:30 mark.

via challahhuakbar.blogspot.com

what is amusing is in the Reagan administration it was ("Fuck the Jews, they don't vote for us anyway.") Baker who threatened to withdraw funding to the United Nations when the United Nations said it would create Palestine.
US to veto Palestinian statehood bid in UNSC, PA Backing Off Declaration of Statehood‏

John Bolton: US Can Stop PA Initiative by Halting Funds for UN:“Reducing U.S. funding to the U.N. is the next available, highly visible, target of opportunity. It presents the U.N. membership with a fascinating question: Would they rather recognize Palestinian statehood, or keep America's money?"

The president of the UN General Assembly said there is no way that a Palestinian state could become a member of the United Nations without a recommendation from the Security Council.

Palestinians Busy Fighting Each Other: Not Ready For Statehood

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

image via Mid East i

Dahlan ousted via Maan News

Bio of Dahlan via
Lawrence of Cyberia

Abbas's recent decision to expel Dahlan from Fatah is threatening to divide the faction into two separate parties. Dahlan is enormously popular among many Fatah cadres in the Gaza Strip, where there is great anger over Abbas's decision. via hudson-ny.org

Dahlan hates Hamas and Hamas hates him. It is reasonable to think that he is being forced out because he opposes Fatah’s cooperation with Hamas. Dahlan believes that in any such deal Fatah will eventually be the loser and Hamas will take over the PA. via crethiplethi.com

Many Fatah leaders are now threatening to quit the faction in protest against the dismissal of Dahlan. Even those who are not known as Dahlan supporters have come out against the decision because of the way it was taken.
They point out that the removal of Dahlan was carried out illegally and without the approval of Fatah institutions. They also note that as a member of the Palestinian parliament, Dahlan enjoys parliamentary immunity – a fact that Abbas preferred to ignore when he decided to remove him.

Bio of Barghouti via
Lawrence of Cyberia

Another Fatah leader who is now challenging Abbas is Marwan Barghouti, who has been in Israeli prison for the past nine years after being convicted of organizing armed attacks against Israelis. Barghouti's wife this week published a letter she sent to Abbas in which she accused the Palestinian president and his top aides of turning their backs on her husband.

Fayyad
...will announce his intention
to refuse to head the new unity government
if he is offered the post,
sources close to the appointed
West Bank Prime Minister told Ma'an.
Fayyad has publicly said he would accept
whatever parties decide in Cairo.
via Maan News h/t Challah

On the other hand, the Fatah-Hamas "reconciliation" accord, which was announced on May 4, seems to be going nowhere. The two rival parties were supposed to announce the establishment of a unity government this week. But the announcement was postponed indefinitely because of Hamas's refusal to accept Salam Fayyad as prime minister of the new government. It also seems that not everyone in Fatah is happy about the idea of having Fayyad as prime minister.

Hamas, meanwhile, is also witnessing a power struggle between its leaders in the Gaza Strip and those sitting in Syria, especially in regard to the reconciliation pact with Fatah and the fate of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, who has been held by Hamas for five years.
Two weeks ago, Palestinians were shocked when they learned that militiamen belonging to Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front-General Command opened fire at a demonstration in a refugee camp in Syria, killing 14 people and wounding many others. more via hudson-ny.org

Incidentally, nobody has ever been kicked out of Fatah for advocating, ordering, organizing, or participating in a bloody terrorist attack against Israeli civilians. Nor has anyone ever been thrown out for incitement or breaking the group’s commitments in the “peace process.” via crethiplethi.com