Abbas' UN Speech Is an Attempt to Buy Time and International Support
Israel certainly won't help Abbas launch a firesale at the PA, as Israel does not wish to assume responsibility for 2.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank, nor find itself partly responsible for the wellbeing of Gaza Strip residents. The international community, with the U.S. taking the lead, is in no rush to make steps that would bolster the Palestinian position, such as approving a Security Council resolution that would recognize a Palestinian state within 1967 borders.
Abbas is well aware that he sitting between a rock and a hard place, and almost completely alone, to boot. The Arab world is divided, bleeding and dealing with internal issues, and would likely reject any strategy that could bring about chaos and offset the delicate status quo. Thus all that's left for the Palestinian president to do is to try and buy a little more time, while ramping up pressure on Israel, in hopes that he can sway international public opinion just enough to jump start the peace process. That's exactly what Abbas' speech was meant to do, as he called on the international community to defend the Palestinian people, expressed his disappointment that the UN and the Security Council did not heed his calls in recent years to recognize Palestine as a full state, and clearly declared that he will continue to turn to international organizations for support, including the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.678335
The PA is in much the same position as SYRIZA was in its debt standoff--the only threat it can make is to put a gun to its own head.
