The Security Council will not accept the Palestinian petition because the United States will veto it and potentially even recruit a majority to oppose it. If the Palestinians petition the General Assembly, as it appears they intend to do, they will gain a majority, but with no practical import. General Assembly decisions are only recommendations and do not necessitate practical steps. Contrary to mistaken popular opinion, the General Assembly vote on Nov. 29, 1947 did not establish the Jewish state. The General Assembly does not have the power to found a state. On Nov. 29, the General Assembly formally stated that it accepts the recommendation of the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) to divide the British Mandate territory into two countries, one Jewish and the other Arab.
In fact, the General Assembly has already recognized a Palestinian state that doesn't exist. In a vote on Sept. 15, 1988, the General Assembly recognized, by a significant majority (104 for, 2 against, 36 abstained), the state that Yasser Arafat declared in Algeria the preceding month. In addition to the U.N. vote, 55 countries, among them the Soviet Union, China and India, officially recognized the Palestinian state in 1988.
The U.S. Congress has already decided, by a landslide majority, that it would cut off financial aid to the PA (which totalled $600 million in 2010) if it unilaterally declared a state. Under such circumstances, Israel, for its part, would likely also discontinue funelling tax revenues from borders and ports to the PA.
Therefore, the anticipated vote in the U.N. General Assembly will be yet another empty declaration, and the Palestinians are likely to pay a heavy price for it.
