The Palestinian loss in Dec. 31's UN Security Council vote was a “chronicle of a defeat foretold.” It has been described as a brilliant diplomatic victory for Israel and the United States, but this is hardly accurate. The Palestinians could have waited just a few days until five of the 10 temporary members of the Security Council were replaced and broken through the nine-state barrier with relative ease. Instead, they preferred a quick vote and losing.

A fascinating battle was fought behind the scenes, between more than two sides. There were the Palestinians, who made up a side of their own, and there was Israel, which is more isolated than ever before. Then there was the United States with its own interests (not all of which are compatible with Israeli interests), France with its own separate proposal and independent intentions and others.

The American steamroller did its job in the end, but Israel showed creativity, too. For example, the ties that Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman forged in Africa over the last few years really helped to convince Rwanda and Nigeria to abstain at the very last moment. The close ties between wealthy Israeli entrepreneur Hezi Bezalel, who was once an arms dealer, and Rwandan President Paul Kagame helped to arrange a long telephone conversation between Kagame and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and resulted in Rwanda’s decision to abstain from the vote.

The bottom line is that the Palestinians got eight of the countries they needed to support them and fell just one country short of the majority that would have forced the United States to veto the resolution. The Americans decided long ago that they would veto the extreme Palestinian version of the proposal, but it seems as if the Palestinians preferred to “lose with dignity” and let all the parties go their separate ways feeling more or less satisfied.