Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Palestinians Begin a New Strategy for Statehood; Will Isolate Israeli Govt., Reduce US Mideast Role

The LA Times website reports today (March 8, 2011) that Palestinian leaders have begun a new risky statehood strategy that will seek to isolate Israel's hawkish government in the international community, and rely much less on US backing -- a move that reflects a strong Palestinian disappointment with the Obama administration.

The campaign will include UN resolutions -- such as the one proposed last month on Israeli settlement building -- boycotts against Israeli products, complaints in international courts, and attempts to win formal recognition from as many countries as possible.

Palestinian leaders expect their new efforts to culminate in September 2011 in an internationally-backed proposal for membership in the UN, or a resolution recognizing a Palestinian state -- even if this means invoking an obscure rule to circumvent the threat of a US veto in the UN Security Council.

"We have moved into the internationalization stage," senior Palestinian official Nabil Shaath said in an interview.

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