State Of Confusion

Despite a guaranteed veto from the United States, the Palestinians are going forward with plans to ask the UN to recognize their statehood.

"It is our legitimate right to demand the full membership of the state of Palestine in the U.N.," said Abbas, who is scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly next Friday, after which he's expected to submit the official request for U.N. membership to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

He then added that he would not rule out other, "unspecified" options.

To block the bid, Israel has enlisted the support of the White House. But two senior U.S. envoys' efforts so far to persuade the Palestinians to enter into intensive peace talks with Israel instead have failed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the move a violation of the peace agreements currently in place and said that it hinders the chances of a lasting peace deal between the two sides.

President Barack Obama has called the move "unnecessary" and an obstacle to restarting long-stalled peace talks. Obama is slated to address the United Nations on Wednesday, where a senior aide said he'd "make clear ... that these types of actions at the U.N. don't solve the problem."

"I think our fundamental message is going to be, if you support Palestinian aspirations, if you support a Palestinian state, that the way to accomplish it is through negotiations with Israel," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Friday.

Palestinian officials, for their part, have expressed interest in renewing peace talks, but only on the condition that Israel freezes construction on its controversial settlements.

"This is our basic point, we cannot enter peace talks while they continue to build on land meant for a Palestinian state," said Palestinian official Saeb Erekat.

If it's a gamble to force the US to act on the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, it's risky and counterproductive.  The US simply isn't going to side against Israel on this.  The measure will be vetoed and the Palestinians aren't going to get what they want, nor will Israel come to the table.

So where does it go from here?  I don't honestly know what this accomplishes other than robbing the Palestinians of their own momentum.  I'm at a loss as to how this will help secure a Palestinian state.