[al Furqaan]

Questions:

1) I'm guessing Germany, UK, and 39 others abstained. What exactly is an abstention serving in this case? Is it an attempt to play both sides and not piss of Israel while at the same time not appearing like overt oppressors or Palestine?

2) It will be interesting to see how the US Congress reacts. The US, by law, must strip what little aid they give to the Palestinians if the UN unilaterally accepts them as a full member but no such stipulation exists for non-member observer state.

3) Nothing will actually change on the ground, in fact conditions may worsen slightly, but for a people who have nothing, a little less than nothing is hardly a deterant. In the long term the added leverage may force the Israelis to negotiate seriously.