Al-Ahram Weekly On-line
9 - 15 July 1998
Issue No.385
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 Current issue | Previous issue | Site map

Real or symbolic?

IN A POSITIVE move toward declaration of a Palestinian statehood, the UN General Assembly on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to upgrade the status of the Palestinian observer delegation, giving it rights closer to those of a full-member state. The vote on the resolution was passed 124 to four, those against being the United States and Israel, and the Pacific island nations of Micronesia and Marshall Islands, with 10 abstentions.

The Arab-sponsored resolution gives the Palestinian observer mission a unique, non-voting seat in the 185- member assembly. The new powers mean the Palestinian representative can raise issues concerning the peace process in the General Assembly, co-sponsor draft resolutions on the Middle East and reply on the record to speeches. They cannot vote or put forward candidates for UN committees, such as the Security Council, however. The vote was above all significant for its symbolism, as affirming international support for the Palestinians in their protracted struggle, AP and Reuters reported.

The resolution was hailed by Palestinians, but played down by the US and Israel, claiming it would add to the difficulties facing the peace process.

Nabil Abourdeineh, a senior aide to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, said the resolution was an admission of the Palestinian's legitimate rights and constituted a huge step toward the imminent declaration of statehood. But in Washington, White House press secretary Mike McCurry called the resolution "misbegotten" and detrimental to the effort to help the Israelis and Palestinians to overcome their differences. "It's got nothing to do with resolving the real issues that will bring peace in the region. It's got everything to do with short-term political symbolism," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, called the vote a minor correction to Palestinian status, but added that it was a clear violation of the Oslo Accords. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan must now report back to the assembly on how the Palestinians' new rights are to be implemented.

The Palestinian Liberation Organisation was granted observer status at the General Assembly in 1974, enabling it to maintain an office in New York, but without the same privileges as missions of UN member states. The PLO's status was upgraded in 1988 when the General Assembly decided to designate the PLO as "Palestine"

Meanwhile Israel's inner cabinet once again deferred a decision on a long-overdue withdrawal from more of the occupied West Bank territories. Prime Minister Netanyahu briefed the inner cabinet in a short meeting yesterday on the outcome of a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, but Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai insisted a decision would be made in the next few days.