United States diplomats are blasting a vote in the United Nations General Assembly in which the UNGA voted to upgrade the Palestinian status at the United Nations to that of a non-member observer state. U.S. Secretary of State Clinton criticized the resolution – which passed with 138 votes in favor, 9 votes opposed, and 41 abstentions, and which violated over a decade and a half of Palestinian diplomatic commitments to avoid unilateral steps that would prejudice negotiations with Israel – as “unfortunate and counterproductive.” U.S. Ambassador Rice insisted that the Palestinian gambit will cause “the prospects of a durable peace [to] recede” and emphasized that the legally non-binding vote did “not establish that Palestine is a state.” Shortly after the conclusion of the Palestinian gambit Israeli officials announced the construction of 3,000 new homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, a move that fell short of withdrawing from the Oslo Accords and was taken as a signal that Jerusalem is attempting to keep its options open despite the fundamental Palestinian violation.

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