Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has decided it is better to risk the wrath of his own supporters than to lose French and International support for action against Israel before the UN. For several weeks, anticipation had been building in expectation of Abbas trying to secure a UN Security Council resolution on April 22nd condemning and declaring as illegal the ongoing construction in Israeli West Bank communities.

Palestinian diplomats continued to assure Western diplomats and the international media that the demand for a vote on the Palestinian resolution was not in question. However, this was clearly not the case and the confusion within Abbas’ own party was demonstrated when Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki, in New York with Abbas, confirmed the vote was to take place one day after his office in Ramallah denied it. FULL REPORT