Ayalon: Majority of the UN is against Israel

Deputy FM says Israel is unlikely to stop UN vote on Palestinian statehood, but that decision will not be binding.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Danny Ayalon 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Danny Ayalon 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said on Sunday that Israel is trying to convince 60-70 countries to oppose a unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood in the UN in September.
"We want to stop the battle on this decision, which doesn't have any legal validity," Ayalon told Israel Radio. "There is an automatic majority against Israel in the UN, and we can't change it, but the Security Council is the body that counts."
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Ayalon added that the unity deal between Fatah and Hamas blocked most of Israel's diplomatic options.
"We have to wait and see what happens on the Palestinian side," he said.
At a Tel Aviv University event last week, Ayalon said that Israel is powerless to prevent the Palestinian initiative to seek statehood.
"Israel will no succeed to prevent recognition of a Palestinian state in the [UN] General Assembly, driven by an automatic Arab majority," Ayalon said in a speech at Tel Aviv University.
"But such a decision will not be taken in the Security Council," he added, "where there is a majority of responsible countries."
Regarding the responsibility of other countries to the peace process, Ayalon said that the United State, Russia, the European Union and several other countries are all obligated by the Oslo Accords, which demand a diplomatic process involving dialogue.