Ten voices on the Palestinian bid for UN membership

Diana Buttu, Palestinian-Canadian lawyer now at Harvard University, legal advisor to the PLO in its negotiations with Israel, 2000-05:

"Although I still think it is an attempt to keep [Palestinian President Mahmoud] Abbas alive politically, I hope that this application for membership to the UN will be the first step in trying to isolate Israel both legally and diplomatically for its ongoing violation of Palestinian human rights and, in particular, its continued defiance of the international community through its construction of Jewish-only settlements on Palestinian land.

"I also hope that the Palestinian leadership finally abandons its farcical support for negotiations with Israel and with it, the nonsensical belief that the US will liberate Palestinians from Israel's grip."

(From a Sept. 22 email to CBC News.)

Paul Dewar, NDP Foreign Affairs Critic:

"The text for the application by the Palestinians hasnt been presented yet ....For the Prime Minister to say that hes opposed to something that he hasnt even read is unfortunate, because what we want to see here is moving negotiations forward and some have noted that this might actually get things moving."

"There is one consensus point here amongst all parties in Canada and that is to have a two-state solution thats negotiated."

John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the UN, Fox News contributor, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute:

"Had the White House exerted leadership at the outset, the PA [Palestinian Authority] could have been dissuaded well before now, at little or no cost to it or the United States. Now, there is every likelihood of a diplomatic debacle, to the detriment of all concerned.

"So convoluted is the situation that Hamas, the terrorist group ruling the Gaza Strip, has condemned the PA move as "empty of content," one of the few accurate observations Hamas has ever made."

The Canadian Jewish News, editorial:

The PA leader is intent on bringing the conflict to a further crisis. He has raised Palestinian expectations to sky-high levels. He has called for his people to demonstrate their support for his policies with en masse marches. He has not spurned Hamas, nor Hamas objectives. He has spurned only direct negotiations. He has, in effect, shown his true colours: shadowy and dark.

Haaretz, Israeli newspaper, Sept. 22 lead editorial:

If a Palestinian state fails to win a sufficient majority of the Security Council, or if the United States vetoes it, America's credibility among the Arab public will be eroded. And the punitive measures Israel intends to take against the Palestinians following the UN vote, combined with its disregard of the view of most the world's nations, could lead it into a regional conflict and international isolation.