PA President Mahmoud Abbas |
NEW YORK – The Palestinian drive for United Nations membership may be resolved in the upcoming week, say diplomatic sources.
The United States has promised to veto the application, which has been under review in the Security Council for over a month. But Washington hopes to avoid casting such a stop sign.
The State Department is counting on the Palestinian Authority move receiving less than the required nine votes for Security Council approval, making a U.S. veto unnecessary.
Diplomats say the unofficial head counts put the yes votes between eight and nine.
A closed series of consultations is scheduled to consider the issue during the first week of November.
Washington will press for more time to consider the application, but the Palestinians are under pressure at home to move the issue to a vote.
Last week, the confrontation between the Palestinians, the U.S. and Israel rose to the surface during a brief Security Council meeting on the regional situation in the Middle East.
Palestinian Authority U.N. observer Riyad Mansour told council members the current moment requires "utmost responsibility by the council members to uphold their (U.N.) Charter duties and their legal obligations."
"The people of the region and nearly the entire international community are joined in appealing to the council at this moment to do justice by Palestine," he said.
Mansour insisted the status quo can no longer continue.
"It is unacceptable, illogical and unjust," he said.
Mansour noted the council has been debating the PA's application for nearly a month, "which we believe is sufficient for its thorough consideration."
"It is time for the Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities by approving our application and making a positive recommendation to the General Assembly," he said.
The Palestinian leader warned that his government's patience is wearing thin.
"We cannot extend or postpone this exercise indefinitely," he said. "... We believe that this exercise should be brought to closure with a clear outcome."
He warned that the "situation on the ground and the two-state solution are too fragile to withstand further delays and sabotage."
Israel's ambassador to the U.N., Ron Prosor, rejected the Palestinian argument, insisting that the move for U.N. membership is in reality no more than a pressure tactic for concessions in stalled peace talks.
"The Palestinian unilateral action at the United Nations is no path to statehood," he said. "It is a march to folly."
The Israeli argued that the Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas does not even meet the basic requirements for statehood and U.N. membership.
"The president of the Palestinian Authority has zero authority in the Gaza Strip," he argued. "Before flying 9,000 kilometers to New York to seek U.N. membership, President Abbas should have driven 50 kilometers to Gaza, where he has been unable to visit since 2007."
Prosor added that the unilateral initiative "will raise expectations that cannot be met," contending that it is a "recipe for instability and potentially, violence."
He told the council that if it votes for recognition of Palestinian statehood it will "own it."
"All those who vote for unilateral recognition will be responsible for its consequences," he said.
Israel's campaign against the Palestinian move took a hit recently when its outspoken foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, remarked about Abbas' political future.
Lieberman told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that Abbas "is the greatest obstacle to regional order and that it would be a blessing if he were to resign."
Lieberman said the "only thing interests Abbas is to inscribe himself in the history books as he who brought about the Palestinian state and the reconciliation with Hamas."
"Anyone who succeeds him would be better for Israel," Lieberman said.
The remarks prompted the PA's U.N. mission to send a formal complaint to the Security Council, calling Lieberman's assessment of Abbas "life threatening."
"We unequivocally reject and object to such incitement, which we consider to be a clear threat to the life of President Mahmoud Abbas," the Palestinian statement said.
The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, briefly weighed in.
"We believe Palestinian efforts to member-state status at the United Nations will not advance the peace process, but rather will complicate, delay and perhaps derail prospects for a negotiated settlement," she told council members.
Should the Palestinians fail to get a Security Council vote, diplomatic sources say the PA is seriously considering bypassing the council entirely and moving its campaign directly to the General Assembly.
In the assembly, the PA would move to enhance its observer status and temporarily suspend its drive for full U.N. membership.
With no veto and more than the required the required 130 yes votes, any Palestinian resolution in the assembly is likely to win approval.