The Palestinian Authority succeeded last Monday in becoming a member state in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Four weeks ago, Yasser Arafat declared that the Jewish people have never had any connection to Jerusalem. Arafat's challenge is not religious belief; it is a political challenge.

Internal conditions of the three entities are hugely significant for any peace between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organizationand Syria.

On Monday, President Obama will sit down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. With a showdown looming over Iran, their summit will not only be the most important meeting for either leader but it may also be the most consequential meeting for the entire Middle East since Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s 1993 handshake with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat.

Recognizing "statehood" does not mean U.N. membership, but it would nonetheless be a major Palestinian success. A resolution recognizing a Palestinian "state" could also declare its boundary to be the 1967 borders (in actuality, merely the 1949 armistice lines), with or without President Obama's caveat about "agreed upon swaps" of land.

Yasser Arafat and the PLO are trying to come to power through international diplomacy, reinforced bymurder.

The Obama administration could abstain from a Security Council resolution affirming a Palestinian state, and we will soon see how hostile to Israel President Obama is prepared to be.

Too often, U.S. negotiators have become unwitting advocates for their adversaries.