By Andrea Mitchell and Catherine Chomiak, NBC News

U.S  officials are working feverishly to persuade the Palestinians to back down from what is still only a threat to go to the United Nations Security Council with their demand for immediate statehood.

On Friday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he will request full membership at the United Nations when the General Assembly convenes next week.

One official told NBC News after Abbas's announcement that "this is a negotiation. They say they are doing it until they say they aren't doing it."

The U.S. has been resolute in its opposition to the proposed action and is engaged in frantic last-minute diplomatic discussions to try to head it off.

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Just Thursday, Secretary Clinton reaffirmed the administration’s view, saying, "we believe strongly that the road to peace and two states living side-by-side does not go through New York. It goes through Jerusalem and Ramallah and it is our absolute conviction that we need to get the parties back to the negotiating table."

Clinton also recently dispatched two top Middle East diplomats to the region. U.S. envoys David Hale and Dennis Ross have met with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. On the Palestinian side, they have met with Abbas and others.

History or histrionics in UN’s Palestine vote?

 According to an official, the diplomats are offering alternatives to UN action, including a fast track to new talks between the two sides and further pressure on Israel to stop its settlements policy. 

Their efforts may be paying off, as the Palestinian Authority has not yet taken the first procedural step needed to introduce a statehood resolution to the Security Council. 

The Palestinians would have to first send a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon requesting that a resolution be brought to the Security Council. Ban in turn would write to the Security Council. A member of the council would then have to bring it up on behalf of the Palestinians. A resolution would then have to be drafted, debated and amended before it could be brought to a vote.

The United States has said that it would veto such a resolution if it passes in the Security Council.  In order for a resolution to pass it must have nine votes of the council’s 15 members. If the resolution were to get nine votes, the U.S. or another of the five permanent members could exercise veto power.

If the Palestinians either do not or cannot get the Security Council to vote on their resolution, they would seek the same status from the 193-member United Nations General Assembly. They will have overwhelming support in that body, and that would give them important leverage.

However, the U.S. position remains that UN action will not bring about a two-state solution with both sides living in peace and security. “We all know that no matter what happens or doesn’t happen at the UN, the next day is not going to result in the kind of changes that the United States wishes to see,” Clinton said.

Andrea Mitchell is NBC News' chief foreign affairs correspondent. Catherine Chomiak is NBC News' State Department producer.

Palestinian UN vote: What is it? Why now?

 

By Yara Borgal, NBC News

RAMALLAH, West Bank – The dusty miles of hillsides and olive groves, Arab villages, Jewish settlements and Israeli military checkpoints that make up the West Bank of the River Jordan are a world removed from the Vatican City. But one of the oddities of the Palestinians' latest efforts to build their own state is that the two might well end up on an equal diplomatic footing.

One likely outcome of the Palestinian plan to take their case to the United Nations next week would see them elevated to the status of  “non-member observer’’ – the same status held by the pope’s city state.

If they are lucky, it might be the best thing the Palestinians can achieve. 

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Seeking a different status
Currently the Palestine Liberation Organization holds only “observer entity status” in the U.N.  If that status were to change to a full member, Palestinians would gain full voting rights at the U.N.

However, in order for the General Assembly to admit Palestine as a full member state, U.N. Security Council approval is needed. The U.S., which opposes the Palestinian request, has veto power and the State Department has made it clear the U.S. will use it.

“Washington has unfortunately declared that it’s going to veto our request,” said Dr. Mohammad Shtayyeh, a senior Palestinian official and an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

“We will try again. Israel was vetoed twice, Jordan was rejected more than once, Portugal was rejected five times, Japan was rejected six times and so on.  History has taught us that this issue is not a one shot; it’s a process.”

Option B
Another option for the Palestinian Authority is to by-pass the Security Council and the U.S. veto and take its statehood request directly to the General Assembly, where approval requires a two-thirds majority vote –129 out of 193 member countries.

According to Palestinian officials, 122 countries have already recognized Palestine, but they hope to gain the support of up to 150.

If the General Assembly approves the request, it would grant only limited U.N. recognition as a non-member observer state – so Palestinians would not have the right to vote.

However, it would allow the Palestinians to join dozens of U.N. bodies and conventions, including the International Criminal Court. That would give Palestinians the opportunity to file charges against Israel for alleged violations of international law – such as the continued settlement building.

‘A different mechanism’
The Palestinians have long aspired to establish an independent, sovereign state within the 1967 borders.

However, frustration from decades of on-and-off peace talks that have failed to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has led the Palestinians, represented by the Palestinian Authority, to pursue new strategies.

Shtayyeh pointed out that it has been 18 years since the Oslo Accords, which were supposed to set the stage for a resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. “Unfortunately, almost two decades later, the Israeli occupation of Palestine is entrenched and Israel’s occupation has turned into de facto annexation,” he said.

“All that we are looking for is a new mechanism to end the conflict.  We are not going into violence, we are not going into armed struggle, we are not taking any unilateral steps. We are going to a multilateral forum that has 193 countries and we are asking this international community to speak loudly for a two state solution,” said Shtayyeh.

He added that the move isn’t meant as a challenge to America.

“We are saying to Washington and to the international community these peace talks have been ongoing for 20 years and they have not achieved their goal,” said Shtayyeh. “The goal is the same; we just simply need a different approach, a different mechanism.”

The Palestinians also argue that their U.N. plan fits with the deadline set by the Middle East Peace Quartet –  the E.U., U.S., Russia and U.N. – to reach a two-state solution by September 2011.

“Even President Obama was hoping to see Palestine admitted to the United Nations in his speech last September to the General Assembly, so everybody wants this to happen,” said Shtayyeh.

Strong opposition from Israel
Israel has made it clear that if the Palestinian request is passed, it will not change anything on the ground. The checkpoints, separation wall and settlements will still all be there. The creation of a Palestinian state on the basis of 1967 borders is something, they say, no Israeli government will accept because it threatens Israel’s security.

However, the Israelis view this step as far from being a meaningless gesture. They worry about the legality of their occupation and the settlements in the West Bank being put to the judgment of the International Criminal Court. In theory, it might lead to Israeli officials being dragged repeatedly before the International Criminal Court at the Hague – something they obviously don’t want.

The Israeli government, like the U.S., believes U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state will set back the peace process. Peace, they insist, can only be achieved through talks.

Israel and the U.S. have urged the Palestinians to reconsider going to the U.N., warning of dire consequences.

Some Israeli right wing officials have called for the suspensions of the transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority, the cancellation of all previous agreements and the annexation of territory containing settlement blocs in the West Bank to the state of Israel.

The United States has threatened to stop all financial aid to the Palestinian Authority if they proceed with plans to ask the U.N. for recognition of an independent state.

Realizing what’s at stake, the Palestinians have stated that they still intend to submit an application for recognition of Palestinian statehood to the Security Council as a first step.

TEL AVIV – Ten years ago Americans woke up to a new reality and discovered that terror can hit within.

Here in Israel that same reality is a way of life. People here grow up living and hearing about bomb explosions, suicide bombers and terrorists trying to infiltrate the country.

It was just about three weeks ago that terrorists crossed the Egyptian border with Israel near the vacation town of Eilat. They killed eight Israeli civilians, including a couple who were driving their car and were shot at close range. A small al-Qaida- linked group based in Gaza praised the attack saying the attack sends a message against “the enemies of God.”

It's this reality that caused lots of Israelis to be very happy when they heard that the U.S. killed Bin Laden.

Hai Shaulian is a 44-year-old Israeli who works in real estate. “I feel now that the world is a safer place for my children. The U.S has woken up against the bad people out there.”

When you speak with people on the streets of Tel Aviv, it’s clear that they have become accustomed to living with the constant threat of attack. 

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“Here in Israel we had a lot of terror before 9/11, so we have experience with it,” said Adiv Cohen, a 28-year-old architect. “People in the world can now understand what we go through and feel.”

Tomer Helsgoff, a 29-year-old graphic designer, believes that the attack made people more aware of potential danger.

“I think that now people around the world are much more afraid and suspicious. For me as an ex-Israeli soldier we feel the danger in the air,” said Helsgoff. He added that people always need to be cautious of their surroundings. “You need to always be ready that something will go off, that something will happen. You live under terror all your life.” 

Yael Yosefi, is an 18-year-old who will be joining the Israeli Army soon. For him, the attacks are a constant reminder that the world is full of dangers. “People realize now that the world is a frightening place, I’m scared to be on buses and on the street.”

But in a strange way, the 9/11 attack seemed to strengthen even further the bond between Israelis and Americans.

“We feel very connected with America, we think that anything that happens in the U.S has an effect on us and vice versa,” said Yosefi.

“I think America showed the world that there are still rules. If you strike us we strike harder and that is what Israel tries to do,” said Helsgoff.

By Paul Goldman, NBC News Producer

TEL AVIV – During the hot summer months, Israel has always been synonymous with beautiful sandy beaches and swimming in the warm salty waters of the Mediterranean Sea – but not anymore.

It's now a common sight to see scores of dead, gray jellyfish covering the beaches’ white sand while kids poke them with sticks. It's even more common to see bathers running away from the water with big red sting marks. 

More than 200 million jellyfish, known here as “Meduzot,” have been attacking Israel, and there is not much anyone can do about it. The jellyfish are an invasive species called Rhopilema Nomadica that originally migrated from the Red Sea.

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They're coming here for one reason: They have few natural enemies lurking in these waters. The sea turtle is one such enemy, but massive construction along the Israeli coastline has devastated the turtle nesting habitat, leaving a paradise for the jellyfish.  

Dr. Dror Angel, who works at the Department of Maritime Civilization at the University of Haifa, says the problem of jellyfish is only increasing. "People bathing get stung, and for the fishermen it's a disaster, they catch them in their nets. And of course the electric plants suffer as well.”

Seawater is used to cool the turbines that supply most of the electricity in Israel.

"When we suck the water, we also suck the jellyfish,” explained Rafi Nagar, the chief maintenance officer at the Israel Electric Corp. near the town of Hadera. “And if we let them go through the filters, they can cause the plant to shut down, leaving millions of Israelis without electricity.”

Nagar has been working 24/7 to combat the enormous number of jellyfish.

"It's a very difficult problem," he said. "In the last three days, we pulled out 100 tons of jellyfish from our filters."

Nagar's crew has been nicknamed the “Jellyfish Busters.” They wear special goggles, rubber gloves and long-sleeve shirts and pants to help them protect themselves from the stings. They use long poking iron sticks to pull the jellyfish off of the filters, piling them into huge canisters. Nagar says that in his 33 years at the electric company he has never seen anything quite like this.

Alon Levi, a veterinarian who volunteers at the Israel Marine Mammal research center, said sailing in the Mediterranean last weekend was like "sailing in a soup of jellyfish.” But it’s not just difficult for swimmers and sailors; the explosion of the jellyfish population affects the larger eco-system.

“It's very sad since they eat small crabs and fish," said Levi.
 
Angel says we need much more information and research on the life of the jellyfish in order to find ways to cope with them.

One thing we know is that every female jellyfish lays 300,000 eggs – making it an almost impossible battle.

By Martin Fletcher, NBC News Correspondent

On paper, it sounds marvelous; but peace in our time, it isn't. Peace, that is, among the Palestinians.
 
To agree to a unity deal between his Fatah movement and rival Hamas, West Bank leader and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wanted the two factions to combine their security services into one. A state, Abbas says, can't have two militaries, each loyal to a different master. But Hamas refused and the compromise is that each Palestinian party will have its own security services.

In other words, while agreeing to unite after nearly five years of bitter conflict, including an all-out war in Gaza in May 2007, each side remains prepared for the day after.

But with the Palestinian Authority building the institutions of a state, and collecting guarantees from dozens of countries that they will support the Palestinian application for independence and a full seat in the United Nations in September, it is imperative that Palestinians are united. Or at least, appear so.

After all, Israel's argument against a Palestinian state, for now, has been that the Palestinians are so divided that they can't claim to be a responsible member of the family of nations.

The agreement between Fatah and Hamas scuppers that objection.

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So now Israel has raised another objection. They say Hamas is a terrorist organization, recognized as such by Europe and the United States, is sworn to Israel's destruction, and so cannot be part of a legitimate national government. And if it is, that government should not be recognized.

It’s either peace with Israel or peace with Hamas, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said within two hours of the unity agreement's announcement. Abbas chose Hamas.

The problem with Israel's objections is that the Palestinians have been very successful at selling Prime Minister Salam Fayad's construction of Palestinian institutions and getting the world to agree to one key point: The Palestinians want to reform and only Israel stands in the way.

However, with the assassination of Osama bin Laden, the Palestinians, in this case Hamas, shot themselves in the foot allowing Israel to claim, as its ambassadors have been told to do worldwide at every opportunity, that despite appearances, nothing's changed. Hamas could not have been more helpful to Israel.

Ismail Haniya, Hamas leader in the Gaza strip, condemned America for assassinating bin Laden, calling him "a holy Arab warrior."

Israel poured oil onto this fire by broadcasting a video on Israel’s channel 10 showing an imam in Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque eulogizing bin Laden. He told the worshippers: "The dogs of the West murdered one of the lions of Islam."

The dogs would be America. The lion of Islam would be bin Laden. The speaker added about President Barack Obama: "You should know that you will soon swing from a rope."

Assuming the video is genuine, and nobody so far has doubted it, there must be a lot of red faces in Ramallah. This is not the face of Palestine that Fatah leaders want the world to see.

JERUSALEM, Israel – Nassar and Ali Abu Alwa are devastated:  for the past 10 days they have had no income. The two Palestinian brothers live in East Jerusalem and for years have been a vital part of the tourist scene here.

If you have visited Jerusalem in the past 40 years, you probably have a picture of yourself posing with their pride and joy, known as “The Jerusalem Camel.”

Hundreds of tourists flock daily to the beautiful Mount of Olives observation point where the brothers work. It's a perfect vantage point to gaze at the Temple Mount, the Dome of the Rock Mosque, the Mount of Olives ancient Jewish cemetery and it offers a great 180-degree panorama of the walled Old City of Jerusalem.

Tourists hurry to snap pictures, but the best picture is always the one taken sitting on the camel with the Biblical view in the background. The camel's name is actually "Kojak" and has been in the business of hosting tourists on his back for pictures for the past 30 years.

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You can't beat the startled smile on a visitor’s face when the huge camel stands up from a kneeling position – laughter is heard everywhere.

The joke goes that for the price of $2 you can go up, but it costs $5 to get off.

But 10 days ago, the Jerusalem municipality decided they had had enough and detained Kojak, leaving Nassar and Ali heartbroken.

The official reasons for the seizure: the camel needs vaccinations, the brothers have no business permit and, last but not least, the camel has no third-party insurance. (Now come on, how do you insure a camel?!)

But Nassar and Ali claim the main reason for seizing the animal was to put pressure on them to hand over names of people the municipality suspects of pick-pocketing at the Mount of Olives observation point. The brothers won’t comment on the case for the meantime.

Enter Hila Zisberg. She belongs to “Youth for Jerusalem,” an Israeli organization that aims to bring young people to heritage sites.

Zisberg frequently brings young people on field trips to the Mount of Olives observation point. Recently, she was astonished to see Nassar and Ali, but not their beloved camel. She was angry when told that the camel had been detained.

"Kojak is a cornerstone of Jerusalem and he will die there," Ali Abu Alwa told Zisberg.

Zisberg decided to take on the Jerusalem municipality and demand the quick return of one of the city's icons. She is now busy with the strange task of finding an insurance company willing to insure a camel; she said most of the agents just laugh at her request.

But she is confident the issue will be resolved quickly and that Nassar and Ali will be reunited with their camel – so tourists can snap the perfect picture again soon.