For
Palestine,
Source Tells
ICP of 16 EU
Yes Votes, UK
May Go Yes
& Carry 2
More With It
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 29, updated
-- The morning
of the
Palestine
Observer State
vote at the
UN, German
Ambassador
Wittig began
by explaining
that his
country will
abstain, as a
way to
encourage
negotiation
with Israel.
Inner
City Press is
told by well
placed
European Union
sources of 16
EU member
"Yes" votes,
and that the
United Kingdom
might vote
"Yes," based
on Mahmoud
Abbas' speech
at 3 pm before
the vote.
More
intriguingly,
an EU source
tells Inner
City Press
that at least
two other EU
members, "from
Eastern
Europe," will
be watching
how the UK
votes and will
go along with
it.
This
contradicts
other
predictions of
two EU "no"
votes, the
Czech Republic
and, other
Ambassadors
assumed,
Italy. Both
are said by
other EU
sources to now
be set to
abstain.
Another
abstainer
now seems to
be Australia.
This has led
to complaints
to Inner City
Press that
Australia
implied while
it was running
for a Security
Council seat
that it would
vote "Yes" to
Palestine
status
upgrading to
Observer
States -- that
switches to
"abstain"
after it won
the seat.
Inner
City Press
continues to
hear that
total of
"No's"
membership
wide might be
as low as ten,
including
Israel,
Canada, the
United States
"and its
satellites."
As
Inner City
Press reported
yesterday,
Sudan's
Permanent
Representative
told it
that Sudan as
this month's
head of the
Arab Group at
the UN will
"propose the
project" of
Palestine
status upgrade
in the UN,
despite the
International
Criminal Court
indictment
against its
president.
Palestine's
Mission
to the UN on
Monday
circulated a
revised
version of the
draft
resolution.
Inner City
Press obtained
the "Rev 1"
and put it
online here.
Back
on November 8,
Inner City
Press
similarly
obtained and
then
exclusively
put online
Palestine's
first draft
resolution.
The changes in
the "Rev 1"
are marked in
bold.
The new draft
adds the term
"non-member"
in the
Operative
Paragraphs,
and moved the
recognition of
132 states out
of the
Operative
Paragraphs. It
adds the issue
of prisoners.
This is not
what the UK is
driving for.
But listen for
Abbas' speech
-- and see
which two
countries
follow the UK.
Watch this
site.
Update
of 2:20 pm -- EU
source
provides
update to
Inner City
Press: Czech
Republic will
vote No, so
only 14 or 15
EU Yes --
Slovenia still
on
fence...
, 
