Palestine won a landslide victory in the United Nations on Thursday in its journey toward statehood, with the world body voting to elevate its status from an "entity" to a "non-member observer state". With symbolic but implicit recognition of Palestine's statehood, the UN vote embodies the international community's rising support for Palestinian people's righteous claim.

Equally importantly, it presents a good opportunity for countries like the United States to step up their mediation in the Middle East peace process. In fact, if US President Barack Obama is serious about honoring his commitment, Washington has to achieve a breakthrough in the stalled Middle East peace talks.

Delivering a speech in Cairo more than three years ago, Obama extended an olive branch to the entire Muslim world and pledged to pursue peace in the Middle East. But contrary to his promise, the division and enmity between the Palestinians and Israelis have deepened, and the Gaza Strip is reeling from the shock of an eight-day exchange of fire between Israel and Hamas.