The clash of cultures is not a recent trend. Rather, humans have been battling over their differences since their beginning, wielding swords or ideas.

The world is well aware of the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East. And this month, Palestine will attempt to add another element to this chaos. At an annual meeting of world leaders, Palestine will seek state recognition from the United Nations.

Most countries support Palestine’s bid for U.N. state recognition, according to The Washington Post. That is, most countries except the U.S. and Israel. In fact, MSNBC reports that the Obama administration is expected to veto Palestine’s request for statehood when it is presented to the U.N. Security Council.

According to The New York Times, the main reason for U.S. opposition to Palestine’s state recognition is that the U.S. and Israel are afraid it will stall peace negotiations between Palestine and Israel.

“Palestine has pretty much given up on peace negotiations,” said Dr. Jerry Pubantz, professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Palestininian officials, however, say they do not want state recognition to replace peace negotiations. Instead, President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas said he wants state recognition in addition to peace negotiations, according to the New York Times.

The U.S. expressed to the U.N. that the Obama administration’s mission for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is to establish two states living in peace, side by side. Palestine and Israel have agreed on this goal, but not on the means of achieving a two-state solution.

Palestine wants Israel and Israel-supporters to recognize Palestine as a state within the borders established by the U.N. in 1967. The New York Times reports that Israel wants Palestine to recognize them as a Jewish state. Both countries say that they want state recognition to be reached through peaceful negotiations. However, neither country seems willing to compromise their position or acknowledge the concerns of their counterpart.

With the peace talks at a standstill, Palestine has concluded that requesting state recognition from the U.N. is the only path to establishing themselves as a country, according to BBC News. Abbas said he wants the state of Palestine to live in peace beside the country of Israel.

According to Pubantz, Israel has a multitude of concerns and reasons for opposing Palestine’s bid for state recognition. One of these concerns is that Palestine is announcing their unity as people, and “this includes Hamas which is seen as a terrorist organization.”

But probably the most significant reason for opposition is that Israel feels extremely isolated, Pubantz explained. Israel is surrounded by Arab countries that harbor anti-Israeli feelings. In addition, Israel does not feel supported by most of Europe. Senior Analyst for Transatlantic Relations Soeren Kern writes for Hudson New York that “more than half of all U.N. members … have already recognized Palestine diplomatically.” Even America, Israel’s most prominent ally, is decreasing their support of the country. Pubantz said that Israel feels that it has been backed into a corner.

While counterproductive, the natural response for a country that feels trapped is to become more rooted in its stance. Pubantz speculated that, if Israel felt safer, if Israel felt more at peace, then maybe Israelis would reexamine their position on peace negotiations. On the flip side, if Palestine felt that peace negotiations were advancing, then maybe they would not be appealing the U.N. for membership.

Assuming that the bid for recognition will be denied by the Security Council as a result of the U.S. veto, it is predicted that Palestine will then request recognition from the General Assembly, according to Politico.com. The General Assembly cannot veto this request. However, Politico reports that recognition from the Assembly would only change Palestine’s status from “observer” to “non-member state,” which means Palestine would still not have full membership in the U.N.

For better or worse, this is a momentous step in Palestine’s relationship within the global community, according to The Huffington Post. Essentially, the U.N. will be establishing Palestine as a state. Palestine is hoping that this establishment will illustrate that, after decades of unsuccessful negotiations, Israel can no longer deny Palestine’s statehood.