Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has announced that he will today submit an application to the UN for Palestine to become an official member of the world organization.
Many countries in the international community are expected to look favorably on this development, although both Israel and the US have raised objections. The US has already confirmed that it will veto the motion, saying that such an application is premature.
Palestinians have lived under Israeli occupation for decades, but they have never given up the dream of one day having their own state. In 1988, the Palestine Liberation Organization’s National Council even went as far as to unilaterally declare independence for Palestine from its place of exile in Algiers.
However, it was only after the Oslo Accords in 1993 that Palestinians gained the right to establish a government within the occupied territories, with Israel agreeing to the eventual creation of their own state.
Over the past few years the Israeli stance on Palestine has hardened and the US has maintained that the creation of a Palestinian state can only be achieved through negotiations with Israel.
Abbas’ announcement of a formal application for UN membership shows that the Palestinians have lost patience with political negotiations that have turned out to be completely pointless. His hope is that this new strategy will force the international community to recognize the autonomy and independence of Palestine as fact.
Even if Abbas is finally forced by the US to retract the application, the Palestinians still have the option of applying to have their current “observer entity” status changed to “observer nation” status.
Given that more than 100 countries officially recognize the State of Palestine, the likelihood of such a motion being passed by the UN General Assembly is quite high. If Abbas does eventually bow to US pressure and retract the application, the Palestinians can play this chip to restart talks with the Israelis, this time with more sympathy for their cause from the international community.
One has to say that the Palestinians have played their hand, from a position of weakness, pretty well.
We can compare their experience to that of Taiwan. Since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) came to power in 2008, the government has pursued a “diplomatic truce” with China, which has included the cessation of all efforts on the part of Taiwan to join the UN.
As a result of this strategy, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a diplomatic white paper published last month that Taiwan refraining from applying to join the UN for two years in a row should be considered a diplomatic achievement.
Diplomacy is all about power and strategy. Palestine’s application for UN membership has made the world sit up and pay attention to the way in which its leaders have bravely stood up to foreign powers. It is also a demonstration of the limitless possibilities of diplomatic maneuvering. In contrast, our government’s diplomatic truce, and ceding of any advantage, pales in comparison.
Chen Mu-min is an assistant professor at National Chung Hsing University’s Graduate Institute of Politics.
Translated By Paul Cooper
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