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U.S. Diplomatic Efforts Unable to Derail Palestinians' UN Gambit
(Washington Post) Joby Warrick and Joel Greenberg - Two of the Obama administration's top Middle East advisers traveled home from the region on Thursday after two days of largely fruitless meetings aimed at averting a showdown over a Palestinian effort to seek recognition of statehood at the UN. Although the White House officially supports statehood, it opposes what administration officials argue would be a merely symbolic gesture that could set back peace efforts and do little to help Palestinians. A senior administration official involved in Middle East policy discussions said the White House had reached out to about 100 governments around the world in an effort to persuade them to oppose the Palestinian bid. "We don't think this is good for anyone - not for Israel, certainly not for the Palestinian people," the official said.