PA considering options to advance statehood bid
By JPOST.COM STAFF
LAST UPDATED: 01/07/2012 01:40
UN envoy: PA waiting to see results of Amman talks, mulling moving bid to UNGA, joining other UN agencies.
PA envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour Photo: Screencap: UN Webcast
The
Palestinian Authority is considering a number of options with regard to
its push for full membership in the United Nations but the timing of
those steps will be affected by current efforts to restart direct
negotiations with Israel, PA envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour said Friday.
Among
the steps the PA is considering, Mansour explained, are reactivating
the application in the Security Council, moving it to the UN General
Assembly, joining other UN agencies and the option of becoming a state
party to various international treaties and conventions.
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Regarding
the recent talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Amman
last week "to remove obstacles to negotiations," Mansour noted the
deadline set by the Quartet for resuming talks later this month. With an
eye on resuming the bid for statehood in the UN, he added, the PA is
waiting "to see if these obstacles can be removed and if direct
negotiations can resume," which he said is affecting the timing of
possible actions in the UN.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, who is the only party
authorized to speak with the press, said after the meeting that the
Palestinian delegation submitted proposals on border and security issues
to Israel.
Israel later gave the Palestinians a 21-point document dealing with
general principles of what will be needed to reach a final agreement,
Western diplomatic officials said late last week.
The officials said the topics on the list are among the issues expected
to be discussed at a follow-up meeting in Amman on Monday.
That meeting will still be held at the level of negotiators, and no
meeting between Netanyahu and PA President Mahmoud Abbas has yet been
set up.
Netanyahu, according to Israeli sources, wants a meeting with Abbas,
since he is aware that if the negotiation process is to succeed,
decisions are going to have to be made at the highest levels.
While Israeli officials refused to provide specifics about Israel’s document, the London-based pan- Arabic daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi
reported Wednesday that it included a refusal to accept Palestinian
refugees in accordance with UN resolution 194 that stated that “refugees
wishing to return to their homes” should be willing to do so.
The paper also said the 21 points included a refusal to withdraw from
all the settlements; a security presence in the Jordan Valley; that the
Palestinian state not be allowed to forge alliances with countries
hostile to Israel; the continued presence of IDF forces at strategic
West Bank sites; and an implementation of the agreement gradually over a
number of years.
Herb Keinon and Khaled Abu Toameh contributed to this report.