State Department: PA Resolution Not Constructive

T. Belman.  I would point out that the US finds nothing wrong with the resolution which asks for ’67 borders and the division of Jerusalem

State Department spokesman says PA’s unilateral resolution does not advance peace or addresses Israel’s security needs.

By Ben Ari, INN

The United States reiterated on Monday that it does not support the unilateral draft resolution that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is promoting at the United Nations Security Council.

State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said Washington believes the resolution, which demands an Israeli withdrawal from Judea and Samaria by 2017, would not advance the goal of peace or address Israel’s security needs.

 

“We don’t think this resolution is constructive,” Rathke told reporters. “We think it sets arbitrary deadlines for reaching a peace agreement and for Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank, and those are more likely to curtail useful negotiations than to bring them to a successful conclusion.”

He continued, “Further, we think that the resolution fails to account for Israel’s legitimate security needs, and the satisfaction of those needs, of course, integral to a sustainable settlement.”

Earlier on Monday, PA envoys presented a more toughly-worded version of the draft resolution on statehood.

A final decision on the timing for a vote on the resolution at the Security Council rests with PA and Jordanian leaders, and it remains unclear if the PA would seek a quick vote or hold off until January 1 when five new members with a pro-Palestinian stance join the Security Council.

Rathke’s comments on Monday echo recent ones by State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, who told reporters earlier this month that Washington has seen the text of the draft resolution and “it is not something that we would support”.

It remains unclear whether the United States would actually veto the resolution.AFP noted earlier that a U.S. veto risks angering key Arab allies, includingpartners in the international coalition carrying out air strikes against the IslamicState group in Syria and Iraq.

December 30, 2014 | 8 Comments »

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8 Comments / 8 Comments

  1. @ NormanF: Vote against is Not the same as veto. Yes they voted against but as you correctly pointed out the Palis did not get the nine votes needed to pass. The USA would have vetoed. I watched the vote. Check the papers if you do not believe what I am communicating. It is only a technicality correct.

  2. @ NormanF:
    The USA voted against but did not need to exercise its veto.

    The US and Australia were the only ones with enough moxy to vote against the Arab World. The Nigerians and Rwandans, Lithuania, South Korea, UK at least abstained. The oil weapon no longer real.

  3. The US vetoed the resolution. In any event, the Palestinian Arabs and their Arab allies got only 8 votes for it. It needed 9 to pass. Australia voted against.

  4. Pals vote failed without US veto needed. Let us see what the Pals next bluff or act of agression is. I listend to the UN speakers after the vote. No pre discussion or negotiation on the text was allowed. The Pal speaker was enough to make one puke. Every lie and complaint one has ever heard.

  5. It takes more guts (courage) to make peace than to make war

    Making peace is harder than making war.
    Can humanity overcome the urge to make war and pursue peace
    Tolerance and peace is a two way street.
    If you want peace and economic prosperity, both sides, show your resolve by taking bold actions, showing your determination to the benefit of all the people. You can accomplish more with honey than with vinegar.

    We must pursue peace with passionate determination and vigor but we must have all parties desire for true peace.

    A true and lasting peace in Israel and the Middle East will establish an economic prosperity of which the world has never experienced and all the people in the region will benefit from a true peace. Do not waste your time and money in promoting war and hostility. The people in power must utilize the resources and manpower to the economic advancement of all the people, this will promote tranquility in a region that has known strife for centuries. The leaders have to utilize funding to enhance education and promote innovation.

    It is neither a culture of confrontation nor a culture of conflict which builds harmony within and between peoples, but rather a culture of encounter and a culture of dialogue; this is the only way to peace. We should require each party in this conflict to listen to the voice of their own conscience, not to close themselves in solely on their own interests, but rather to look at each other as brothers and decisively and courageously to follow the path of encounter and negotiation, and so overcome blind conflict.

    The “greatest contribution to a sound and continuing peace in the Middle East would result from the development of trade and other economic relationships between Israel and the Arab countries. When nations are making progress and peoples’ opportunities for rising living standards are favorable, it is more likely that they will concern themselves with constructive achievements rather than with hostility and war.”

    “Israel has the talent, technology and skills and by now the experience of dealing with the environment and the resources in the Middle East which are readily transferable. Therefore, it is entirely realistic to expect prompt and major developments in the Arab countries under peaceful and normal relations in that region,” “Israel’s economic growth is reasonably assured under any circumstances but only if she could divert the hundreds of millions of dollars now devoted to defense efforts could she not only speed her own development but also play a positive role in helping the economic expansion of the entire region.”

    YJ Draiman

  6. Regardless, it will be ignored by Israel.

    A one-sided resolution that purports to impose an Arab diktat on Israel and by-pass the need for negotiations between the two sides is destined to go nowhere.

    Whether or not the US actually vetoes it, that point appears to be lost on the Arab Group at the UN.