(Jerusalem Post) Khaled Abu Toameh and Tovah Lazaroff - The U.S. has threatened to veto a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity, PA President Mahmoud Abbas' political adviser, Nimer Hammad, said on Saturday. The PA is working on the final text of such a resolution, which it hopes the Security Council will approve at its Jan. 19 meeting. "The Americans don't want us to take the issue to the Security Council," said Hammad. "They say that discussing this issue in the Security Council would prompt the U.S. to veto it." Karean Peretz, spokeswoman for Israel's UN mission, stressed Thursday that "the only road to peace" is through direct negotiations. "Israel has demonstrated time and time again its commitment to peace, and we hope that the international community won't allow these moves to divert both sides from reaching the real goal - peace and stability in our region." Israeli officials added that past one-sided UN resolutions had done nothing to assist the Palestinians. Its leadership has to decide if it is interested in empty declarations or meaningful progress, an Israeli official said.
2011-01-10 09:13:02Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive