Palestine UN bid spotlights some unlikely kingmakers

With Friday's Palestinian bid for statehood now official, the focus turns to the U.N. Security Council, and an array of unlikely kingmakers.

Gabon, Colombia, Bosnia-Herzogovina — these countries aren't usually associated with Middle East diplomacy, but they happen to be on the U.N. Security Council this year, meaning their votes would determine whether the Palestinian application wins approval.

If it does, the U.S. plans to veto it, but President Barack Obama is anxious to avoid an action likely to inflame the Arab world. The council consists of five permanent members — China, Britain, France, Russia and the U.S. — and 10 rotating, non permanent ones which can expect to be wooed and pressured by both sides as the vote approaches.

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