Palestinian statehood: trapped between rhetoric and realpolitik

This article considers the legal implications of the Palestinian application for full membership of the United Nations (UN)on 23 September 2011 as well as the Palestinian application for UNESCO membership in October 2011 with particular emphasis on whether the entity under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA) satisfies the criteria of statehood and whether the Palestinian application for membership of the United Nations and UNESCO was in accordance with its obligations under the 1993 Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (‘DOP’) and the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (‘Interim Agreement’).. The article also makes reference to the Palestinian attempt to recognise the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in January 2009.