On Friday, the Palestinian Authority will seek statehood recognition from the U.N. The bid reflects popular frustration with the current dynamics of the peace process. Though Israel promised Palestinians a state by 2000, the negotiations remain virtually fruitless. Locked in a limbo between annexation and statehood, Palestinians overwhelmingly feel they are worse off now than they were before Israel’s agreement for statehood.

Negotiations have been almost nonexistent, even as the Palestinian Authority has built institutions needed for statehood and despite very low levels of violence from Palestinians. Meanwhile, Palestinians are losing land through the construction of Israeli settlements ­— especially in or near the primary destinations of a Palestinian state’s tourism industry. The Palestinian Authority is not going to the U.N. to impede negotiations. In fact, President Mahmoud Abbas has said several times that he plans to continue negotiations. Instead, the Palestinian Authority is seeking to alter the dynamics of negotiations by altering its position on the world stage. From the Palestinian perspective, the dynamics of negotiations must change in order to break the stalemate
However, many argue the Palestinians might end up worse off. Also, Palestinian refugees outside the West Bank and Gaza, who make up about half of the Palestinian people worldwide, likely would become disenfranchised if the U.N. were to recognize a Palestinian state. But an overwhelming amount of Palestinians still agree the negotiation process for statehood has thus far produced poor results.