The FINANCIAL — Although having declared that it is time to raise the Palestinian flag at the United Nations, the Turkish capital has shown its awareness that a UN admission of Palestine as a full member state will bring no dramatic change on the ground concerning the Middle East peace process.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will appeal to the UN for full membership of his country on Sept. 23 after addressing the General Assembly, Palestinian Ambassador to Turkey Nabil Maarouf said on Thursday, noting that the relevant vote in the General Assembly may take place in October.
Turkey and Palestine have worked in coordination on the issue for a year, Maarouf also said.
The General Assembly, meeting next week in New York, seems likely to recognize Palestine as a non-member observer state, news reports said, while highlighting that this status, identical to that of the Vatican, requires only a simple majority of those present in the 193-member body. Formally, General Assembly recognition would be mainly declarative, the same reports claimed.
“The advantages of such status is highly symbolic, it will not change anything in the current situation on the ground,” a senior Turkish diplomat told Sunday’s Zaman.
“Yet, it will be instrumental in displaying the solidarity of the international community with the Palestinian people. It will put pressure on Israel to be more constructive on the eventual resolution of the Middle East conflict,” the same diplomat, speaking under customary condition of anonymity, however, added.
When asked why such intense efforts have been exerted for the recognizing of a status that is known to be symbolic, the diplomat replied: “Because Israel is not letting any steps in favor of the Palestinian side or any steps towards a resolution of the Middle East conflict to be taken in any field or platform. This status will bring in a new situation with which Israel has to deal, and it will be a message to Israel.”
As seen in Turkey’s contacts with the related parties, at the moment more than 120 countries will vote in favor of Palestine in the General Assembly and thus it will have the required majority, the diplomat said.
Israel is strongly opposed to the Palestinian UN bid, which it sees as an attempt to isolate it and undermine its own legitimacy. Washington says the move is unhelpful to its Middle East diplomacy and has pledged to use its Security Council veto to block the request for full membership.
Anticipating that outcome, Palestinian officials have indicated they could table a resolution in the General Assembly that would upgrade their status to a “non-member state” from an “entity.”
Mensur Akgün, the head of the İstanbul-based Global Political Trends Center (GPoT), has ruled out assumptions that Palestine’s UN recognition would make things more complicated and prone to risks regarding prospects of a resumption of negotiations between Israel and Palestine.
“Nothing can be more complicated than now. The more pressure on Israel, the better it is for resolution of the Middle East problem. At least it will serve as a tool of political pressure on Israel,” Akgün told Sunday’s Zaman.
“It is significant within which borders this recognition will happen. It will obviously be within 1967 borders, which means that it will drive Israel into a corner,” he added.
This week, President Abbas reiterated his previous conditions for a resumption of negotiations, including a complete halt to settlement building and terms of reference, saying that the basis for the Palestinian state is the territories occupied in 1967.
“Although Israel will do everything to block implementation of the legal results of this status, it is important that the public opinion pressure on Israel is growing each day and that Israel is becoming more and more isolated,” Akgün went on to say.
“Today, the Camp David order is collapsing. Israel is losing Egypt, and Jordan may soon add its voice to those against Israel because there is domestic public opinion pressure on the Jordanian administration to raise its voice against Israel’s actions. It is arguable whether this status will lead the process to resolution, but it is obvious that it will put pressure on Israel,” Akgün said.
According to Ferit Hakan Baykal, the dean of the faculty of law at Cyprus International University, the UN move will definitely and eventually bring advantages for the Palestinian people.
“The Palestinians’ nationhood is a given fact. They have their own territory although they are under occupation. They have their own political organization. One may ask if recognition is required, if they have all of those assets,” Baykal told Sunday’s Zaman.
“Recognition is not necessarily required, but it will definitely be advantageous to the Palestinian people and the most important advantage will be the fact that Palestine will find equal partners as a state once recognition is gained,” Baykal said.
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