The expected UN vote on a Palestinian state in September leaves me, in contradiction to the unofficial rules governing columnists, without a decisive opinion on the matter.

On the one hand, despite the doomsday scenarios we’ve been hearing in recent weeks, I’m having trouble getting frightened by what we can expect the day after the vote. With all due respect to UN decisions, this is not a strategic threat for the State of Israel. After all, the Palestinians already declared statehood in 1988, most states of the world recognized it, yet despite this neither peace nor a Palestinian state prevailed. Instead, we got Arafat thanks to our team of dreamers.

I’m also having trouble accepting the argument that time works against us in the Palestinian context. A Palestinian state without ability to govern itself and without desire for democratic government is not a recipe for stability. And when there is no stability, diplomatic progress means greater risk. Read more