Weal & Woe of Palestine's Bid for Statehood and UN Membership

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to submit the letter of application to the United Nations for Palestine's statehood and UN membership today. Abbas' decision to bid for Palestine's statehood has won a big support from more than 80 percent Palestinians who believe the UN bid will bring benefits for their future lives.

Mazin Qumsiyeh is a distinguished¹ professor from the Bethlehem University.

"I think the only benefit is to either bring the Palestinians up (in the peace negotiations²) or bring the Israelis down so that we are close. If you are a member even a non-member state of the United Nations, you could bring suits to the International Criminal Court of Justice. And I think it would be appropriate to use that mechanism³ to apply pressure on Israel. The other side of benefit is it makes things move a little bit."

However, Israel opposes Palestine's UN action. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes that the Palestinian effort to secure U.N. recognition won't succeed. Netanyahu will take the podium at the General Assembly to argue that only direct negotiations between the two sides can lead to a Palestinian state.
The United States have said time and again that it will use its veto power in the Security Council to block Palestine's bid.

Professor Gabriela Shalev, Israel's former ambassador to the UN, says Palestine's bid will not bring a ray of hope for the entangled⁴ Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

"There are huge problems, Jerusalem, the territories, the borders, the refugees, water, electricity and Gaza on one hand and the West Bank on the other hand. All these problems will not be solved through any kind of resolution of the UN."

For more on this issue, we are now joined live with our correspondent Zhang Xiaoyu who is now in Jerusalem.

1 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

4 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》