Nov. 19, 2010 -- RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Away from the headlines, Palestinians have been trying to advance their statehood agenda in small but symbolic ways in United Nations agencies that fall off the radar for most people.
But even on the outer reaches of the sprawling U.N. system, their efforts are seen to have been blocked by a United States seemingly resolved not to display any tilt toward Palestinians as it tries to broker peace talks with Israel.
Many Israelis suspect President Barack Obama is bent on establishing a Palestinian state at any cost. But in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinians' limited self-rule in the West Bank, they think he is not as serious about it as he sounds. Even the Palestinian president has questioned U.S. resolve.
At a meeting of the International Telecommunications Union last month in Mexico, the Palestinian delegations tabled a motion designed to secure them the rights of a member state, said Sulaiman Zuhairi, a senior Palestinian official.
