France and Saudi Arabia are leading an international push for Palestinian statehood recognition at this week’s U.N. General Assembly.

Netanyahu threatens unilateral action, possibly annexing West Bank territory, in response to countries recognizing a Palestinian state before establishment.

The growing international pressure could backfire by prompting Israeli actions that make Palestinian independence even more difficult to achieve.

France and Saudi Arabia hope to use this week’s annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly and the increasingly horrific war in the Gaza Strip to inject new urgency into the quest for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Those efforts include a new road map for eventual Palestinian statehood in territories

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