United Nations: The Palestinians are asking the UN Security Council to set November 2016 as the deadline for ending the Israeli occupation, according to a draft resolution obtained by AFP on Wednesday.
The draft, circulated to council members, follows Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas’ address last week to the UN General Assembly in which he called for a fast-track to statehood.
The text, put forward by the Arab group, calls for “the full withdrawal of Israel, the occupying power, from all the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, as rapidly as possible and to be fully completed within a specified timeframe, not to exceed November 2016.”
It calls for the world body to respect “the independence and sovereignty of the state of Palestine and the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people.”
UN diplomats said the draft resolution stood little chance of being adopted, but the move presents the Security Council with a challenge on how to advance the Middle East peace track if the Palestinian demand is rejected.
European countries and the United States have steadfastly maintained that the best path to Palestinian statehood is through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, and not by imposing a deadline.
Palestinian diplomats said they were aware of US opposition to setting a deadline, but that they hoped to garner strong support for the text from other countries. The submission came as US President Barack Obama met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Wednesday. It was their first meet since Israel’s offensive on Gaza killed nearly 2,000 Palestinians. Obama said the status quo in the Middle East must change so Israelis are safe and the “tragedy” of Palestinian children being killed is avoided. Netanyahu said there were “enormous challenges” facing the US and Israel in the region. He said nations should “look outside the box” on a solution that creates a Palestinian state, including bringing in other Arab states.
