Palestinians to push for
Israeli withdrawal at the UN
Palestinian officials will submit a draft resolution to the UN on
Wednesday calling for a withdrawal of Israeli troops from the occupied
territories despite the threat of a US veto, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb
Erakat said.
The United States called for caution on
Tuesday as Palestinians seek to push their hopes for statehood to the top of
the UN agenda ahead of Israeli elections.
Top US diplomat John Kerry said nothing
should be allowed to get in the way of preparations for the March polls, as the
Palestinians threaten to submit a draft text Wednesday to the UN Security Council.
Speaking to reporters just before he met
with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat in London, Kerry said it was
"imperative" to help lower tensions.
"Many of us share a deep sense of
urgency about this," the US secretary of state told a press conference
during a whirlwind trip to Europe.
"But we're also very mindful that we
have to carefully calibrate any steps that are taken for this difficult moment
in the region," he said.
Amid reports of competing Arab-backed and
French-led resolutions, Kerry has been meeting his European and Russian
counterparts as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to gauge
support for the Palestinian UN push.
The Palestinians have said they will submit
an Arab-backed draft text to the UN as early as Wednesday which would call for
a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian lands within two years.
France is putting together a more nuanced
version setting a two-year timetable for concluding a peace treaty, without
mentioning the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
No US decision
Asked what kind of resolution the US might
be able to support at the UN, Kerry insisted the US administration has
"made no determinations... about language, approaches, specific
resolutions, any of that."
He later met with Erakat and Arab League
secretary general Nabil al-Arabi to discuss options.
Traditionally the US has used its power of
veto at the UN Security Council to shoot down what it sees as moves against its
close ally, Israel.
While Kerry refused to detail any of his
private conversations, he stressed the US believed no-one should
"interfere or do something that might be perceived of as interfering in
the course" of the Israeli elections.
"What we're trying to do is have a
constructive conversation with everybody to find the best way to go
forward," Kerry added.
"We want to find the most constructive
way of doing something that... will not have unintended consequences, but also
can stem the violence."
Netanyahu warned late Monday after meeting
Kerry for almost three hours in Rome that European backing for the Palestinians
could harm his country.
"Attempts of the Palestinians and of
several European countries to force conditions on Israel will only lead to a
deterioration in the regional situation and will endanger Israel," he said
in a statement.
"Therefore, we will strongly oppose
this."
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told
AFP they were looking for "a resolution which everyone can get
behind".
There is a growing impatience in Europe
over the failure to make progress in peace talks, amid fears the Middle East
risks spiralling into even greater chaos.
Several European parliaments have called on
their governments to move ahead with the recognition of a Palestinian state.
The US administration opposes moves to bind
negotiators' hands through a UN resolution -- particularly any attempt to set a
deadline for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank.
But a US veto risks running contrary to
Washington's avowed aim of a Palestinian state and would anger key Arab allies,
many of whom are much-needed partners in the US-led coalition against Islamic
State militants.
(AFP)
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