In putting the Palestinian demand for statehood to a vote, Abbas will end up subverting the international organization's longstanding solution to the Arab Israeli-conflict—U.N. Security Council Resolution 242—with unpredictable results.

According to Israeli security assessments, the Palestinians are not planning any violent demonstrations to coincide with the statehood quest in New York at the UN General Assembly. The Palestinians themselves also say that they prefer the “soft power” approach.

“It’s very clear that the public wants a real state, not just a state in name. The public is willing to pay the price.” Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki explains why a unilateral declaration of statehood may be the last chance Palestinians give to their current leadership...

Since it is a given that the Palestinian proposal for unilateral statehood will pass in the UN General Assembly, it is not enough to ignore the proposal or simply lobby against it. Israel should announce, very publicly, that it will vote in favor...