A statement from the European Union’s U.N representative, Catherine Ashton, voiced support for Abbas and noted that the vote arrived only days after Israel’s bloody offensive on Gaza, “a bitter reminder of the urgent necessity to move forward towards the end of the conflict.”

Israeli officials said they were “shocked and dismayed” to lose the support of the EU.

“There was a serious miscalculation made here by our top officials,” said a senior Israeli official at the Foreign Ministry, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to discuss the vote with a reporter. “We have clearly lost the support of Europe in a drastic and spectacular manner.”

One concern Israel has is that Palestine’s upgraded status could lead to a similar move on the International Criminal Court, where the Palestinians have tried for years to carve a role but were stopped by ICC officials who said the U.N. General Assembly must first sort out its status. The fear is that Palestine would try to bring war crime charges against Israel.

Analysts said it’s still unclear how much practical significance the resolution will have. John Quigley, a professor at The Ohio State University, whose book, “The Statehood of Palestine,” argues that a de facto state has existed for years, said that Palestinians could become parties to treaties that grant it sovereignty over airspace or a better standing in maritime laws. For example, he said, the Palestinians could assert a claim to the disputed offshore gas deposits near Gaza.

“It’s a state, but it’s not yet independent in the sense of having control over its territory,” Quigley said.

Palestinians won a seat on the U.N.’s cultural body, UNESCO, last year, and that hasn’t necessarily worked in their favor.

A Time magazine report noted that some longtime allies of the Palestinians rebuffed their UNESCO initiatives out of frustration over the U.S. Congress withholding $70 million in annual dues, about 22 percent of the agency’s budget, in protest of the Palestinian admission. As a result, the magazine reported, there were “widespread cuts to UNESCO’s programs, as well as a hiring freeze.”

Members of the Senate – from both parties – threatened similar moves hours before Abbas appeared before the General Assembly. Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., introduced legislation that reads as punishment for Abbas’ U.N bid.

The bipartisan legislation demands the closure of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s Washington office unless the Palestinians enter into “meaningful negotiations,” and eliminates U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority if the International Criminal Court “adjudicates any matter proposed or supported by the Palestinian Authority,” according to a joint statement from the senators.

“I fear the Palestinian Authority will now be able to use the United Nations as a political club against Israel,” Graham said in the statement. “Most important, they will file complaints in the International Criminal Court against the Israeli Defense Force or any other Israeli institution engaged in defending the Jewish state.”

Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., issued a statement in support of the Palestinian resolution, arguing that “opposing Fatah’s nonviolent efforts to achieve statehood sends the wrong message to the Palestinian people.”

Allam reported from Washington, McClatchy special correspondent Frenkel from Ramallah. James Rosen contributed to this report from Washington.