The United Nations voted, 138 to nine, with 41 abstentions, to recognize Palestine as a non-member state Thursday.
While this can be seen as a victory for Palestine, we have to ask: what’s next?
While any recognition of Palestine as a legitimate autonomous sovereign state is positive, those who think that this actually changes very much are deluding themselves.
The U.N. is not a Congress of the world and the General Assembly has little power.
The General Assembly was designed as a place for nations to engage in discussion with each other, according to un.org, and resolve their differences peacefully, not as a place to decide what is a state and what is not.
The real power resides with the U.N. Security Council, which includes all of the world’s most powerful and influential nations.
Any attempt to bring Palestine out from under Israel’s grip will be met with resistance by the United States and its allies on the Security Council.
Of course everyone seems to be forgetting the fallout from this U.N. decision. Do you think Israel will sit idly by while its hegemony is being threatened? This decision could spur Israel to action.
The BBC reported that Israel approved 3,000 new settler homes and is speeding up the processing of 1,000 more. This is a prelude to possibly more aggressive actions by Israel.
However, if we can say that Israel was spurred by the decision, then this victory reinvigorated Palestine and its supporters, giving them energy to campaign for independence.
From here on out, it is a dangerous game. The stakes are higher and each side must be prepared for and potentially anticipate more aggressive actions. If the Israelis continue their campaign of settler-colonialism and the Palestinians continue their push for statehood, then I don’t see how this issue can be settled peacefully.
The Palestinians can celebrate this U.N. decision because they deserve to. If they want statehood, then they must prepare themselves for further conflict with Israel, because these two sides are building up momentum and will collide sooner or later.
Mann, a freshman computer science major from Raleigh, is an opinion writer.