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Obama Raises Possibility of Allowing U.N. Vote on Palestinian Statehood

(Los Angeles Times) Christi Parsons and Michael A. Memoli - President Obama took a step toward a tougher line with Israel in an interview released Tuesday, raising the possibility that the U.S. will allow a United Nations vote on issues related to the Palestinians if the two sides make no meaningful movement toward peace. In an interview with an Israeli television station, Obama noted that his administration has "up until this point" quashed such efforts at the U.N. while insisting that the Israelis and Palestinians must negotiate a resolution. But he said it is a challenge for the U.S. to keep demanding that the Palestinians negotiate in good faith if no one believes the Israelis are doing the same. "How do we move off what appears right now to be a hopeless situation and move it back towards a hopeful situation?" Obama asked in the interview. "That will require more than just words. That will require some actions. And that's going to be hard work, though, because right now I think there's not a lot of confidence in the process." "If, in fact, there's no prospect of an actual peace process, if nobody believes there's a peace process, then it becomes more difficult to argue with those who are concerned about settlement construction, those who are concerned about the current situation," Obama said. "It's more difficult for me to say to them, 'Be patient and wait because we have a process here' -- because all they need to do is to point to the statements that have been made saying there is no process." Obama's critical tone toward Netanyahu, describing him as someone who is "predisposed" to "think perhaps that peace is naive," appeared to return to the tough language that marked administration statements earlier this spring. The apparent shift in tone seems "hard to understand," said a Democratic strategist with close ties to the White House. Previous White House criticisms of the prime minister clearly strengthened Netanyahu electorally, he said.
2015-06-03 00:00:00
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