The United Nations voted overwhelmingly to upgrade Palestine’s international status from “observer” to “nonmember observer” last Friday, passing the measure by a 138-9 vote, with 41 abstentations. The vote grants Palestine access to U.N. agencies and international bodies, including the International Criminal Court, which could have implications for Palestine’s insistence that Israel has overstepped its bounds in the Gaza Strip. The move was an international rebuke to Israel and the United States, who have been vocal in their opposition to the measure. “Today’s unfortunate and counterproductive resolution places further obstacles in the path of peace,” U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice said. “Today’s grand pronouncements will soon fade and the Palestinian people will wake up tomorrow and find that little about their lives has changed save that the prospects of a durable peace have only receded” …
