Israeli diplomats are suggesting that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, having secured non-member U.N. statehood status for the Palestinians, is committed to leveraging that status to “incite a confrontation with Israel no matter what.” The Palestinian Authority announced Thursday that, should Israeli voters choose the Likud Party to lead the next government as is widely expected, the Palestinians will launch a campaign to destabilize the Israeli government and isolate Israel internationally. Palestinian tactics in the aftermath of the U.N. vote have bolstered the case of skeptics who insisted that upgraded diplomatic status would harden Palestinian intransigence.

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