Arab UN delegations on Monday endorsed a Palestinian proposal to forge a peace deal with Israel within a year and end Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories by late 2017, despite fierce Israeli and US opposition.
The timing for a UN vote on a measure that faces almost certain defeat is unclear.
Several Western council diplomats told reporters they had been surprised by the Palestinians’ sudden push to submit a final draft resolution to the UN Security Council on Monday and put it to a vote either yesterday or today.
Jordanian UN Ambassador Dina Kawar — the sole Arab representative on the council — saidthat all 22 Arab delegations endorsed the Palestinian proposal, while the Jordanians and Palestinians would consult immediately on “the best time to cast the vote in the Security Council.”
When asked if the vote could be delayed until next year, she said: “Everything is possible.”
Kawar had said she would like a resolution backed by all 15 council members, including the US.
A US Department of State spokesman said the draft was not constructive and failed to address Israel’s security needs.
Nine Security Council votes are needed to adopt a resolution, which would then force Washington, Jerusalem’s closest ally, to decide whether to veto it. The US would be expected to vote against it, diplomats say.
Israel has said a council vote, following the collapse in April of US-brokered talks on Palestinian statehood, would deepen the conflict. It supports negotiations, but rejects third-party timelines.
Several European countries have urged a less stringent timeline to win broader support. Washington wants to wait until after Israeli elections in March.
A copy of the Palestinian draft resolution obtained by Reuters calls for negotiations to be based on the territorial lines that existed before Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in 1967.
It also calls for resolving all major differences — known as “final-status issues” — within 12 months, ending the occupation by the end of 2017 and establishing a “third-party presence” to help oversee Israel’s withdrawal and guarantee Palestinian sovereignty.
Israel, which pulled troops and settlers out of the Gaza Strip in 2005, has said its eastern border would be indefensible if it withdraws from the West Bank.
An earlier draft of the resolution called for Jerusalem to be the shared capital of Israel and a Palestinian state, but the final proposal reverts to a harder line, saying only that East Jerusalem will be Palestine’s capital.
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