At 7.30 this morning a small group of Palestinian prisoner solidarity activists in Ramallah swooped down on the United Nations compound in Ramallah. They blocked the main gate and doorway, preventing entrance to the UN building. UN employees have been turned away, sent home for the day. I went along a couple of hours later. Activists told me they intend to stay until the end of the working day at 5pm. Family members of prisoners took part in with the action, with more joining as the day went on. Read more about Palestinians shut down UN building in Ramallah to protest inaction over hunger strikers
Mahmoud Abbas was never popular with the Palestinian people. Yet his “stalwart” UN speech moved many to accept the UN bid for Palestine statehood if not purely for the initiative, then for the internationalization of the conflict as a springboard toward a so-called just solution. Read more about Mahmoud Abbas: the Second Coming
While Palestinians are defenseless and under attack in villages and cities around the West Bank, thousands of Palestinians took to the streets in Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem, and Hebron to show support for the United Nations bid for Statehood and express their full support for their leader, Mahmoud Abbas. Read more about Thousands rally in West Bank for statehood bid
Victor Kattan argues that UN membership for a State of Palestine would be a strategic asset to the Palestinian struggle for self-determination, although there are risks involved. Read more about The case for UN recognition of Palestine
