(Ha'aretz) Zvi Bar'el - At a meeting of the PA cabinet on Wednesday following the death of Palestinian minister Ziad Abu Ein, President Mahmoud Abbas said that "popular resistance" should continue in all its forms. On Thursday, Abbas spoke by phone with senior American officials who demanded that he not halt security cooperation with Israel, and this demand was apparently augmented by Egyptian pressure. To convince the UN Security Council to support the PA's demand to set a deadline for Israel to withdraw from the West Bank, Abbas must demonstrate his willingness to be a "responsible neighbor" - to continue security cooperation with Israel. Absent such cooperation, he will have trouble convincing not just America, but also European countries to support him in the council. It's not yet clear how Washington will respond to the PA's UN initiative. Its options range from vetoing the Palestinian resolution to backing a softer version drafted by France. According to American sources, Washington understands that it can no longer completely reject the Palestinians' demands if it wants to maintain the Arab coalition that is helping the West fight Islamic State.
2014-12-12 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive