U.N. boost of Palestinians 'one more step in the direction of chaos, non-cooperation, and violence'

"As the Trump administration realigns its stance in the Middle East to embrace a stronger pro-Israel outlook, at the United Nations the opposite is happening: a U.N. bloc of developing countries has decided to hand Palestine a key leadership role, raising concerns that a push for full member status is not far behind...

[T]he elevation of Palestine to the G77 leadership -- a bloc of 135 developing countries including countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Cuba, China and Venezuela -- raises the specter that Palestinians could soon push to be recognized as an independent member state, something that would likely be vetoed by the U.S. Currently, Palestine is recognized by the U.N. as an observer state, but not a full member.

A U.N. diplomat said the Palestinians will likely use their new platform to look to change their status from observer to member status.

The U.S. has condemned the move to elevate Palestine to G77 leadership, saying it is being treated like a state.

'The United States strongly disagrees with the Group of 77's decision to make the Palestinian delegation the Chair of the G77 beginning in January 2019,' a U.S. official said.

'The United States does not consider the Palestinians to be a State, and believes that it is inappropriate for the Palestinians to assume this role in the UN. We urge members of the G77 to reconsider their choice of leadership for the coming year.'...

Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, told Fox News that the decision marked a snub to the U.S. and to the West in general.

'Choosing the non-state of 'Palestine' as the head of a bloc of states that forms the majority of UN members represents one over-arching message to the United States - and the Western world in general: the proverbial middle-finger,' she said.

She warned that the G77 is now likely to be turned by the Palestinians 'into a private fiefdom.'

'It's an unfortunate development all around - but in particular, it makes a mockery of democratic states continuing to foot the bills of the United Nations when its operations have taken one more step in the direction of chaos, non-cooperation, and violence,' she said..."