World support for the state of Palestine gaining momentum

There seems to be a reawakening in the 22-member Arab League as it has endorsed the proposal of the Palestinian Authority to press for a vote on its Draft Resolution to recognise the state of Palestine by the United Nations Security Council. Foreign ministers of the Arab League unanimously accepted the proposal at its meeting in Cairo on  November 29 where President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority was present. In his speech at the meeting, Mahmoud Abbas said Israel had left his people with no option but to turn to the international community for recognition of the state of Palestine. Jordan has circulated the Draft Resolution to members of the Security Council which calls for an end of Israeli occupation by November 2016. Arab League indicated that it planned to seek votes of the Security Council within a few days.
Palestinians have insisted to have a state of their own in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and blockaded Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as capital while Israel has accepted the idea of 'two-state solution' of an independent and democratic state of Palestine along with the state of Israel, but not accepted the 1967 borders as the basis for final negotiation, citing security and other concerns.  Having seen the Draft Resolution prepared by the Arab League, Britain, France and Germany are drafting their own Resolutions to set out parameters for trying to end the conflict. However, they have not yet circulated the Draft. France, however, declared that it would recognise the state of Palestine even if no Resolution is adopted by the Security Council. It is doubtful whether any Resolution would be adopted by the Security Council because the veto-wielding Council member -- United States -- would not support any Resolution against Israel, its key ally.
On international platform, British, Swedish, Spanish and Irish parliaments have recognised the state of Palestine. This dramatic development might have encouraged Israeli leaders to bring about a bill in Knesset (Parliament) to declare the state of Palestine.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet has passed a bill by 14-7 votes on  November 23 defining Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people. This matter is being heatedly debated in Knesset, Israeli parliament. If the bill is passed by the Knesset, it would undermine Israel's unilateral declaration of independence, which states that "the new state would be based on the principles of liberty, justice and freedom expressed by the prophets of Israel and affirm complete social and political equality for all its citizens, regardless of religion, race or gender."  The fact remains that 20 per cent population in Israel are Arabs who have been residing in Israel permanently, besides the Christians.  
 Latest round of peace talks initiated by the Obama administration between Palestinians and Israelis collapsed in April this year, and 50 days of war between the Hamas in the Gaza strip and security forces of Israel has vitiated the atmosphere in the conflict zone.
In 1974, the United Nations General Assembly through a Resolution recognised the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, national independence and sovereignty in Palestine. On 29 November, 2012 the General Assembly passed a Resolution changing Palestine's status to non-member observer state by a vote of 138 to 9. By October, 2014, 135 member states of the United Nations accorded recognition to the state of Palestine.
Frustrated by a deadlock in the Middle East peace process because of Israeli leaders belligerent attitude in building Jewish settlements in the occupied  territories in violation of the fourth Geneva convention, a large number of lawmakers in European Parliament in Strasbourg, France are calling for unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, but European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told lawmakers that the "bloc needs to forge a united and strong message to influence to resolve the conflicts".
Since the war in 1967 between the Arab states and Israel, there has been no concrete step by the UN to resolve the crisis between Palestinians and Israelis in spite of the fact that the onus lies with the world body. Unilateral declaration of the state of Israel in 1948 is the result of the UN General Assembly's Resolution 181 which called for the partition of the British-ruled Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Resolution was approved on November 29, 1947. It was accepted by the Jews in Palestine while the Arabs in Palestine and Arab countries rejected.
In an another dramatic development the UN General Assembly adopted a Resolution of the Arab League that Israel is the only Middle Eastern country that is not party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and called on Israel to accede to that treaty without further delay and put its nuclear facilities under the safeguard of UN's International Atomic Energy Agency. This Resolution was adopted in a 161 to 5 vote on 3 December, 2014. The United States and Canada joined Israel in opposing the measure. This development goes in favour of Iran which has been confronting with P 5+1 (Germany) to come to terms with its nuclear facilities and production of uranium for domestic use.
The United Nations, as the designated world body, has the responsibility to create the state of Palestine. World attention is now focused on the next move by the Arab League.
Mohammad Amjad Hossain is a retired diplomat. amjad.21@gmail.com