Today the world's focus is on the United Nations where Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will ask for what more than 190 other countries have-full membership status at the world body. Some Palestinians believe this could be a much-needed breakthrough and a big step on their journey to becoming an independent state. But many others say-- regardless of the outcome in the halls of power in New York-- very little will change on the dusty streets of the West Bank and Gaza. We hear from Palestinians both for and against the UN bid.

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Today's guest host was Piya Chattopadhay.

Part One of The Current

Satire

It's Friday, September 23rd.

The Palestinians are expected to submit their bid for statehood to the United Nations today.

Currently, in order to show balance and ruffle as few feathers as possible, President Obama is looking up the Arabic word for 'Veto.'

This is the Current.

Palestinian Snapshots - Jamil Rabah

Palestinians have been rallying all week in support of the Palestinian Authority's bid to seek full membership - and statehood recognition - in the United Nations. Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the PNA, is expected to submit that bid later today. He's facing strong opposition from Israel and the United States, as well as other countries including Canada. And U.S. President Barack Obama says the U.S. will veto the bid at the Security Council ... if it gets to a vote there.

Meanwhile, Palestinians on the ground in the Middle East have been watching events in New York unfold from afar. And while many are hopeful the UN bid succeeds, others aren't so sure it's the right way to proceed - or that it would actually change daily life for the better.

Jamil Rabah says the majority of Palestinians are behind the bid. He is the co-director of Near East Consulting, a polling firm that studies public perceptions of life in the Palestinian Territories. He was in Ramallah in the West Bank.

Palestinian Snapshots - Linah Al Saafin

Not all Palestinians support the bid at the United Nations. Linah Al Saafin is a 20-year-old university graduate who lives in the West Bank. Throughout the 1990's she spent her summers visiting family in Gaza. She was last there in 2005 and she joined us from Ramallah.

Related Links:

• Poll: Palestinians support UN bid, fear consequences - Ma'an News Agency
• Q&A: Palestinian bid for full membership at the UN - BBC News
• EU Divided on Palestinian State UN Recognition - Voice of America
  
  

Music Bridge

Artist: Chris Velan
Cd: Twitter, Buzz, Howl
Cut: # 2, Long Way From Home
Label: Mutation
Spine: MM 1101

Other segments from today's show:

• Camera's in the Court Room
• The World of Stolen Art