Palestinians Going Directly to UN to Get Statehood Endorsement

Palestinians have decided to go directly to the United Nations to put the question of their statehood before the Security Council. They say the peace process with Israel is dead.

The Palestinians are sick and tired of negotiating with the Israelis to get their statehood. And now, the Voice of America reports that with the peace process virtually deadlocked, the Palestinians say they will circumvent the talks entirely and ask the U.N. Security Council to endorse a state for them, without Israel's okay. Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat says

"The purpose of such a move is to keep the hope in the minds of Palestinians alive."

Erekat told Israel's Army Radio that the Palestinians have lost hope in the peace process since hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office eight months ago. Their demands for a complete freeze on Jewish settlement expansion as a precondition for resuming peace talks, have fallen on deaf ears. And the peace talks which started in 1991 have achieved nothing.

"It is very, very obvious to Palestinians now that 18 years later, that the Israeli government is not willing to even resume the negotiations where we left them in December 2008, but their main goal and the main strategy for the government is more settlements,"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to respond to the Palestinian threats. On Haaretz.com he is quoted as warning Sunday that Israel would respond to any unilateral Palestinian steps - particularly declarations of statehood - with one-sided steps of its own. Netanyahu emphasized that the talks must begin again in good faith. He admitted they won't be easy and would involve several sensitive issues. His list includes. 1. That Iran not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. 2. Israel has to find a way to fight the threat of rockets from Gaza militants. 3. And Israel's right to self-defense must be accepted. Netanyahu said If Israel and the Palestinians just began peace negotiations,

"We can surprise the world."

Israeli officials warn that a declaration of Palestinian statehood could doom any peace efforts, but Palestinians say the peace process has already died.