Late last week, Palestinian Authority President and chair of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Mahmoud Abbas, confirmed that he will move forward with a plan to seek full membership and recognition at the United Nations. He spoke in Ramallah today, through an interpreter.

“We are going to the United Nation to ask the world to show its responsibilities, carrying the olive branch with us and we hope they don’t take it off from our hands, the same olive branch that the late President Yasser Arafat carried more than 30 years ago.”

Click on the audio link to listen to IPS New Internationalism director Phyllis Bennis comment on the potential outcomes of this move as the UN gets ready for a busy week. To get up-to-date commentary from Phyllis Bennis, sign up for her newsletter or be a fan of her facebook page.