Israel is uneasy about signs of recognition of the still nascent Palestinian state offered so far by three states from South America, Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia, according to an Arab diplomatic source in the UN headquarters in New York.
Recognition of the Palestinian state by Bolivia, forecast by Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, is likely to exacerbate tensions in the Israeli diplomatic community which aims to block further recognitions by states, the same source added.
One outcome of the flurry of Israeli diplomatic activities, according to an Arab diplomatic source in Brussels, headquarters to the European Union, is the recent statement made by the EU to underline that it would not recognise a unilaterally declared Palestinian state.
The statement was issued only two days after the EU Council of Foreign Ministers adopted a statement indicating the willingness of the EU to recognise a Palestinian state at the appropriate time.
Moreover, according to an Arab diplomatic source in Washington, it is the influence of the Israeli lobby in the US capital that led to the recently adopted US Congress resolution that rejects recognition of a Palestinian state outside of an Israeli-Palestinian agreement.
"We are getting into the holidays season (Christmas and New Year) but members of the Israeli delegation are actively working to lobby member states against recognition of a Palestinian state, even if this recognition is purely symbolic, because obviously there is no Palestinian state," said the Arab source in New York.
According to a Palestinian estimate shared with Ahram Online, close to 15 states, exclusively Third World countries, have given an indication of their intention to recognise the Palestinian state before it is established.
This recognition is perceived by the PA as a function of pressure not just on Israel but also on the US to work seriously and promptly towards the establishment of a Palestinian state, in order to settle the Palestinian-Israeli struggle that has run for decades.
The PA, according to one of its sources, was always skeptical about the ability, or desire, of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to deliver a deal that leads to a Palestinian state. Now it has also become sceptical of the ability of US President Barack Obama to open the way towards a Palestinian state.
"The window of hope is quite narrow, but we have to keep working," said a PA source.
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