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The Palestinians Roll the Dice at the UN

(Foreign Policy) Colum Lynch - The Palestinians last week shrugged off appeals by Secretary of State John Kerry to shelve a UN bid to advance their statehood drive, submitting a draft UN Security Council resolution demanding the withdrawal of Israeli troops by the end of 2017. It has virtually zero chance of being adopted. Even Arab governments, including Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, have urged the Palestinians not to force a showdown with the U.S. on a draft that is doomed to fail. The U.S. has long opposed a role for the UN Security Council in the Middle East peace process, and the administration has been straining to avoid a messy UN collision that risks culminating in a U.S. veto. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel would refuse to abide by UN demands over its security policy. European and American diplomats are upset that the Palestinians decided to press ahead with a resolution that stands no chance of passage. "The move shows the Palestinians are not really interested in achieving an outcome, but in provoking a public standoff with the United States on the UN stage," said one European diplomat.
2014-12-22 00:00:00
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