https://iwpr.net/global-voices/palestinians-seek-un-independence-vote
This article analyzes Palistines recent moves to request recognition as a state by the United Nations. In order for Palestine to achieve statehood they require a 9 vote majority from the UN security council. The issue faced by Palestine is that the US has already claimed that they will deny their statehood, the reason the US will vote against Palestine is because of the US’s belief that its statehood should come from talks with Israel. The US has a longstanding relationship with Palestine however that relationship believes in an agreement between Israel and Palestine. This complicates their admission of Palestine as a state. Due to this Palestinian officals are debating atempting to be accepted as a full member of the UN by getting a majority vote by the general assembly. However this would not affect their status as statehood and serve mainly as a symbolic mesure.
This article highlights the longstanding conflict between Israel and Palestine. This conflict stems back to the border crisis between the two that has been going on for 73 years. Should Palestine achieve statehood however it would dramatically change the power structure in that region as well as within Palestine itself. Palestine currently operates almost as a kleptocracy. Should Palestine become a state they would need to institute a more stable government and thus lead to some internal conflict. Internal conflict aside however it would also change regional powers within that small region. Palestine currently holds no land of its own and thus would naturally look to expand its territory likely through Israel causing another war within that region. However Palestine would never be able to compete with the larger nations surrounding them and would not be a major player in the region.
Due to these reasons Palestine will likely not become a sovereign state for quite some time. However if it had it would have added to the chaos currently consuming the middle eastern shatterbelt. This directly relates to our class discussions about the future of the middle eastern shatterbelt and the major powers within it. While Palestine will likely never be a major power, its backing by the US will never eliminate it from the conversation of being one.