Israel-Palestine Feature: Why a UNESCO Vote Is Key To Palestinian Statehood

UPDATE 1745 GMT: State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland has told journalists, "We were to have made a $60 million payment to UNESCO in November and we will not be making that payment."

UPDATE 1245 GMT: The New York Times has produced an overview --- a slanted overview, in my opinion, sniping at UNESCO while putting the unsupported assertion that "the Obama administration and Unesco had tried to avert the approval" of Palestine's bid. This paragraph, however, is notable:

Legislation dating back more than 15 years mandates a complete cutoff of American financing to any United Nations agency that accepts the Palestinians as a full member. Unesco — the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — depends on the United States for 22 percent of its budget, about $70 million a year.

Lara Friedman has more on the US legislation mandating withdrawal of funding.

UPDATE 1230 GMT: Palestine has been accepted by UNESCO by a vote of 107-14, with the US objecting. There were 52 abstentions.

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Iran Analysis: Duelling Propaganda Banjos Play Over Backroom Manoeuvres

David Ignatius of The Washington PostThe Iranians, of course, have their own machinery to churn out the line that the so-called Plot is an American attempt to divert attention from its internal problems, including the challenge of Occupy Wall Street, while the US Government has Eli Lake at Newsweek and David Ignatius of The Washington Post as its messenger boys.

All this is loud enough to drown out other developments. One of those is the fencing to take advantage of The Plot while avoiding an escalation to conflict beyond the political battle.

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Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Death in Detention

Protesters in Homs last night give a satirical "welcome" to Syrian President Assad's birthday

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2115 GMT: More criticism for the Syrian regime to consider tonight....

Three prominent Syrian clerics of the Alawite sect, to which President Assad belongs, have denounced the “atrocities” committed by the regime against protesters.

“We declare our innocence from these atrocities carried out by Bashar al-Assad and his aides who belong to all religious sects,” Mohib Nisafi, Yassin Hussein, and Mussa Mansour said in a joint statement from Homs.

The clerics continued, “The daily reports of kidnappings, killings and harassment of members of the Alawite sect are all untrue. They are designed and spread to cause divisions among people united against the regime....“The children of Homs, Sunnis, Alawite and Christians, have lived and will continue to live in coexistence and harmony.”

Then the clerics came out in opposition to the regime:

Six months have passed in this revolution and people have been killed or wounded. The climate is ripe for victory. There is no other way left to save the self except by joining the peaceful demonstrations.

This regime and its president will not rule you forever.

And then there are the nightly demonstrations --- the Kisweh section of Damascus:

Anadan in Aleppo Province:

Rastan in Homs Province:

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