The Palestinian Authority will ask the United Nations to recognize it as an independent state on the first day of the next session of the General Assembly, September 20.

From JTA:

The Palestinian Authority will ask the United Nations to recognize Palestine as an independent state on the first day of the body's new session.

P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas will take the Palestinian's case to the U.N. on Sept. 20, when he asks U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to present the request to the Security Council, the French news service AFP reported over the weekend.

[...]

"We will insist on this historic initiative and Ban Ki-moon will present the request to the Security Council," al-Malki said.

Lebanon will hold the presidency of the Security Council during September and Qatar will chair the Security Council, making September even more attractive for the request, al-Malki reportedly said.

It is believed that the United States will veto the request in the Security Council, but the General Assembly is likely to approve the upgrading of the Palestinian Authority's status from observer entity to non-member state.

The US is expected to veto the initiative in the Security Council but not before an orgy of anti-Israeli propaganda is spewed out by most of the rest of the world.

The question is, what difference will it make? No one's mind will be changed about Israel and the Palestinians as a result of any vote. The PA will be no closer to actual statehood than it was before the vote.

There won't be much of a change psychologically for the same reasons. This measure is designed to reinforce the anti-Israeli sentiment in the UN and give the Arabs and other enemies of Israel a chance to feel good about themselves by supporting Palestinian statehood.

Beyond that, we should watch and listen very carefully to the US speech by Susan Rice explaining our veto. It may denounce Israel in almost the same terms as her enemies, complaining about the settlements and Israeli intransgience.

With friends of Israel like this...