Saturday, December 1, 2012

A Start for Palestinians

The UN vote to allow Palestine to be a nonmember observer in the UN is a start. It's not what the US and Israel likes but it's what's most of the rest of the UN like with 130 votes for and 50 votes against or abstaining.

It's a start, not a big one and probably not that significant in time since President Abbas is not allowed in Gaza which is part of the territories the Palestinians occupy. Clearly it's more symbolic than real, for now.

The key is what happens in the future and where this will be important for the Palenstinians to gain statehood and become a nation. It will be a long road but now they have something to hang their international diplomatic hat on and present their case before the UN, again.

It's a start. Nothing more, and now it's up to them. And maybe a shift in the negotiations for the US between the Palestinians and the Israelis. That will take changes in the Palestinian leadership to coalesce around one government.

But more so it will take change in the leadership of Israel to forgive over 60 years of anger toward the Palestinian people and look to a peaceful two-state solution. The US will also have to change the overwhelming political, economic and military support we give Israel.

The political leaders and politicians here will have to change to moderate their unabashed political support for Israel and balance the common goals of all the nations in the Middle East, including the Palestinians.

That will have to be real support for the other nations and people in the Middle East than the political lip service we have long given them in the complete defense of Israel, even in the face of the 65 violations of UN resolutions by Israel.

But it's a start. The future rang, now the question is who will respond and what will happen.

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