RAMALLAH: Facing failure in his bid to win full United Nations membership for Palestine, President Mahmoud Abbas may be forced to seek a lesser upgrade of his nation's status in the world body to protect his credibility from attack by Hamas.
Even going for "observer state" rank at the UN will likely expose the Palestinian Authority to more pressure from the United States and Israel, which have imposed financial sanctions in a bid to curb the Abbas administration's diplomatic campaign.
But Abbas has few alternatives if he wants to build on the domestic momentum his statehood drive has generated, compared to paralysis in the peace process upon which he had built his strategy for steering the Palestinian national struggle.
"I agree he has to do it," a diplomat said, discussing whether or not Abbas will seek to make Palestine an observer state after the bid for full membership fails.
The Palestinian application for full UN membership is expected to come to a head on Friday with the submission of a report by a Security Council committee studying the request.
Unsurprisingly, the committee has been unable to reach consensus on whether Palestine should be accepted as a UN member, according to a draft of its report circulated this week.
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