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Palestine and the UN: Another Gambit
(Economist-UK) The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has a habit of lurching from one supposedly game-changing initiative to another, then flinching in the face of resistance. Palestinians therefore have good reason to ask themselves whether Abbas' latest gambit - seeking a UN Security Council resolution - will be pursued with real vigor. Regional and Western powers seem preoccupied by matters other than Palestine, not least the war against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, says any pullout would endanger Israel and bring armed Islamists to the outskirts of Tel Aviv. Criticism of Abbas is growing. For all but two of his ten years in office he has ruled by decree, and repeatedly postponed elections after his term lapsed five years ago. Western diplomats have sought to strengthen Abbas as the best hope for peace. But even they worry that he is becoming part of the problem.