News Analysis: Three years on, Palestinian bid to UN has no positive results on peace process

It has been three years since Palestine's status in the United Nations was upgraded to a non-member observer state. However, the move had no any positive impact to settle the ongoing conflict with Israel, according to analysts.

The third anniversary for the Palestinian bid to the UN will be marked on Sunday. It coincides with a flaring wave of tension and violence between Israel and the Palestinians, which broke out in early October amid absence of horizon for achieving peace between the two sides.

On Nov. 29, 2012, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted for upgrading the Palestinian representation at the world organization to a non-member observer state.

POLITICAL AND LEGAL IMPORTANCE

Mohamed Daraghma, a Palestinian journalist and political analyst, told Xinhua over the phone from Jerusalem that the UN decision is politically significant, as the future Palestinian state within the 1967 borders has become internationally recognized.

Three years ago, the UN also enabled the Palestinians to join a number of international bodies, which moved them to another step forward and strengthened their position in the face of Israel, said Daraghma.

However, he added, this "had no positive influence on the conflict with Israel."

The gap between Israel and the Palestinians has widened amid disagreements over issues such as settlement and the borders of the future Palestinian state.

The current wave of tension showed that as long as the occupation of the Palestinian lands goes on, the conflict will keep running for more decades and won't end with just a UN resolution, he added.

According to Palestinian and Israeli official figures, 104 Palestinians and 20 Israelis were killed in the current tension which was sparked amid strife over the flashpoint holy site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in east Jerusalem, holy to both Jews and Muslims, and quickly spread throughout the country amid dim prospects of a peace treaty based on the two-state solution.

REQUEST FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTION:

Late last year, the Palestinians sought to submit a draft resolution to the UN Security Council to asked for a timetable for ending the Israeli occupation and establishing a Palestinian state, but they failed to obtain the necessary international support.

However, the Palestinians got the membership of several international treaties and agencies, notably the International Criminal Court (ICC), in The Hague, earlier this year, along with the signing of several international conventions, most notably the Fourth Geneva Convention.

In September, the Palestinians also saw their flag raising on the headquarters of the UN for the first time ever, like the flags of the world's states.

However, Palestinian observers believe that all the steps of the Palestinian approach to the UN and its bodies, which was a result of the UN decisions, has been, until now, symbolic and did not have a practical effect for the Palestinian cause.

Rajab Abu Serreya, a Ramallah-based political analyst, told Xinhua that the UN recognition of Palestine only devoted the concept of the state of Palestine in the international public awareness.

He also alerted that the Palestinians are currently trying to put pressure on the international community to secure internationally-sponsored peace talks with Israel.

George Jockman, a Ramallah-based political analyst, told Xinhua that the advantage of the Palestinian approach to the international bodies is to "support the Palestinian political and diplomatic struggle."

The internationalization of the Palestinian cause will strengthen the Palestinian position in any future talks, he pointed out. Endit