The gesture may have been more symbolic than decisive, but the move this week by a cluster of leading nations, including Britain, France, Canada, Australia and Belgium, to recognise Palestinian statehood was still significant.
As a backdrop to the United Nations general assembly, it was a reminder to Israel of western revulsion at its assault on Gaza, a warning against alleged moves to annex the West Bank, and an attempt to revive serious progress towards a two-state solution.
