How Abbas will go about the vote

London: The United Nations' vote on the Palestinians' bid for statehood will be one of the most momentous taken at the world body for decades, and arguably the most dramatic since it approved the creation of Israel in 1947.

If passed, it would confer a degree of legitimacy on the territories of the West Bank and Gaza that will dramatically alter the political geography in the Middle East. However, exactly when and where that vote takes place at the UN's headquarters, and how it is worded, is something of a diplomatic maze.

The UN Security Council is composed of five permanent members and ten non-permanent, elected members. As the current council president and Arab representative, Lebanon will simply table the statehood resolution when the Palestinians so desire. The United States has already said it would use its veto power to block the vote.

There is a certain time pressure on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The general debate of the UN General Assembly starts tomorrow with 10 days of speeches by national leaders.

Protocol demands that Security Council votes are not held during the general debate, meaning Abbas has to wait until next Friday to have the vote held, or else see it moved to the autumn or even later during the largely ignored phase of the general assembly calendar.

If the request is blocked on the Security Council route, his second option would be to seek a vote at the general assembly that would confer enhanced observer status. This would confer the position of permanent non-member state on the Palestinian territories, and grant access to the International Criminal Court and other world bodies.

In the general assembly there are no veto-holders and a resolution requires the support of two thirds of the 193 members of the UN, which the Palestinians would easily receive.

Again, precedent suggests that such a vote would be held either before the start of the general debate tomorrow or after its close next Friday. Israel and their American backers would also object strongly to the second option, because the resolution, even though non-binding, includes the word "state". Britain and many other European heavyweights are on the fence until they know exactly what course of action Abbas will pursue.