“Palestine” hoisted its flag at UNESCO HQ, but is also “facing a stifling financial crisis caused by the reluctance of certain donors to fulfil their financial obligations towards the Palestinian Authority on due time and the Israeli Government’s repeated practices of withholding taxes and custom revenues due to the Palestinian people, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law in addition to being a form of collective punishment of the Palestinian people.” Capacity to Function as State: Ambassador Mansour was speaking in context of Report provided to the UN General Assembly on the situation in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. The Secretary-General’s Report states that the Palestinian Authority has continued to implement its two-year program of strengthening the State institutions of a future Palestinian State and that in the key areas of United Nations engagement and the functions of the Palestinian Authority are sufficient for a functioning State government.” (See our Interview with Ambassador Mansour from 10 months earlier: diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/movie/palestine-statehood-at-unamb-riyad-mansour-interview-p1/24296 No “Roadmap”? The admission of Palestine by UNESCO maybe considered an achievement; however it is no where close to what the Palestinians expected in terms of UN membership or Washington’s role. While it has done everything from threatening/shutting off funding to political arm twisting of countries like Bosnia & Herzegovina, Washington has offered no viable alternative – in fact no dirt or paved route can be discerned or even a “Roadmap” to move forward. It was our concern in early fall that no alternative is being offered and that we will witness another cycle of despair, anger and regression of the peace and economic process. Read: “What Next on Palestine UN Membership?” - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/what-next-on-palestine-un-membership-by-ambassador-mo/40429 “Suffocating” Statehood? According to UN observers on the ground and Ambassador Mansour, the expulsion of Palestinians and building of Israeli settlements has continued largely unabated. Further, the current Israeli government has translated the diplomatic “trench warfare” at the UN into a persistent economic stifling or “strangulation“ as the Palestinians call it: “In spite of our attempts to invest in development programs and our efforts to strengthen the trend to move from the stage of receiving aid for relief to the stage of development and self reliance, our efforts, made in cooperation with our partners are still restricted and undermined because of the continued Israeli occupation of our lands. Israel, the occupying power, remains determined to deprive us of achieving our independence and stresses every day its defiance of the international community and international law and resolutions through its insistence of continuing the occupation of our Palestinian territories, the confiscation of our lands and the building of illegal settlements and the apartheid annexation wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory including East Jerusalem.” READ –“East Jerusalem Settlements, Israel/Palestine Prisoner Exchange Crowd Palestine UN Membership Debate” - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/east-jerusalem-settlements-israelpalestine-prisoner-exchange-crowd-palestine-un-membership-debate-by-ambassador-mo/36341 UNSG Ban’s Report on Palestine cites the continuing Gaza divide from the remainder of the Palestinian Authority as well as the Israeli occupation as ongoing reasons for difficulty. However, is it possible due to the lack of progress on the political front, “strangulation” on development and economics and despair on the ground that the Gaza mindset of Hamas could prevail over the more open invitation to a peace process of the Palestinian Authority. Ironically, it may be Palestinian success in admission to UNESCO, so opposed by the current governments in Israel and the US, that deters Hamas’ growing stronger for now and another round of unabated violence. (READ – Palestine UN Membership – What’s at Stake?” - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/palestine-un-membership-whats-at-stake-by-ambassador-mo/35385 Euphoria - top 2 Photos: UNESCO Admission Ceremony; Despair - Palestine Delegation at UN HQ in NYC During Palestine Debate/Discussion. By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey Facebook – Become a Fan at “Diplomatically Incorrect” Twitter – Follow us at DiplomaticallyX “WarCrimesJustice” Channel - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/c/war-crimes-justice