Former Palestinian negotiator: Bid shows up United States as Israel's lawyer

Friday, 23 September 2011 11:58 AM

Diana Buttu, a former Palestinian negotiator, offers analysis of Mahmoud Abbas' statehood bid and criticises the United States for acting as "Israel's lawyer":

"Is this a coup for Abbas? Yes, absolutely.

"This is the first time since 1974 that Palestine has been able to capture international attention at the United Nations in this way.

"He's managed to get people discussing whether Palestine should be recognised as a state, whether it should get its independence immediately, how we get there. It's been a brilliant move.

"I think the old negotiations process has completely run its tired course. You've got countries around the world recognising that you can't just have this process of endless negotiations with the so-called honest broker who is not so honest at all. This has put the final nail in the coffin of the United States being the honest broker.

"Now it is being seen for what it actually is, which is: Israel's lawyer. The next step depends on what Abbas does.

"Is he going to continue to pander to the Americans? Or is he really going to try to build up an international coalition that will deal with this in a very different way to how it's been dealt with in the past?"

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