General assembly to vote on making Palestine a non-member state as Israel threatens retaliation with financial penaltiesThe United Nations general assembly is set to deliver a momentous vote on Thursday that potentially moves the Palestinians along the road to statehood, a step that will be hailed by their leader Mahmoud Abbas as a diplomatic breakthrough in the face of Israeli and US opposition.An overwhelming majority of the 193-member world organisation were lining up to back upgrading Palestine from UN observer status to that of a non-member state.