Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN has elicited mixed reactions in the lead up to a formal discussion on the issue at the global body on Wednesday.

“I think the UN will postpone it and this might even take months for a verdict,” Sam Ahmed, 35, from Milton and a volunteer at the Palestine House, an educational and cultural centre in Toronto, told the dailyplanet.com

“Mahmoud Abbas should go back to the UN assembly and apply to upgrade to observer status. My people have tried negotiations for 20 years and we have had enough,” said Ahmed.

Abbas will still have to negotiate with Israel in the long run said Professor Aurel Brown from the department of politial science at the University of Toronto.

“You have to negotiate with your enemy not your friends. Israel will not go away. I think Abbas has made matters worse by demonizing Israel,” Brown told thedailyplanet.com.

“He has lost all the support and the little trust that he had from Israel. This was a propaganda tool for Abbas to keep himself in power,” said Brown.

“This is a symbolic and psychological victory for the Palestinian leader. He is trying something new,” James Reilly, a professor on middle east civilizations at the University of Toronto told thedailyplanet.

“Palestine reacts to what other major players in the peace process say and do but this time it has forced other nations to react,” said Reilly.

“If Palestine is admitted to the UN they might use this to further the peace process but one year from now things will still be the same on the ground in Palestine,” said Reilly

The Palestinian bid for statehood is bound to fail since U.S has vowed to veto the any attempt should the issue come up for voting at the UN security council.

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