United Nations: The Palestinians have abandoned their request for a vote at the UN Security Council on Tuesday that they hoped would reject the peace plan of President Donald Trump, whose administration has put heavy pressure on critics, diplomats said.
Introduced by Indonesia and Tunisia, the resolution risked not having nine out of 15 votes in its favour, the minimum required for adoption provided there is no veto by a permanent member, the diplomats told AFP.
A diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the United States has placed ‘very strong pressure’ on other countries on the Security Council, including threats of economic retribution. Despite the setback, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will go ahead on Tuesday and address the Security Council about Trump’s January 28 plan, which paves the way for Israeli annexation of much of the West Bank but also allows for a demilitarised Palestinian state.
”Consultations are still ongoing,” Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said of the proposed resolution. Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, urged Abbas to cancel his trip, accusing him of dwelling on the past and calling on him to focus on the future. The United States would be certain to exercise its veto to any resolution that criticises its plan.
But diplomats said it was far from certain that the Palestinians could pull off a repeat of the December 2017 vote in which all 14 other Security Council members denounced Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The United States has proposed a series of amendments to the draft resolution that could come up for a vote at the session attended by Abbas.
In proposals seen by AFP, the United States would significantly alter the text to remove references to lines before the 1967 Six-Day War, in which Israel captured the West Bank, as being the basis of peace. It would also cut out a statement that Jewish settlements built in the West Bank since 1967 are illegal, a position taken by virtually every country except the US and Israel.
The United States is also seeking to eliminate language that equated East Jerusalem with the occupied West Bank.
The Trump plan calls for recognition of the contested holy city as Israel’s undivided capital, while establishing a Palestinian capital on its outskirts.