PA weighs next steps as statehood bid seems doomed

Palestinian officials say they're "not surprised" by failure of Security Council members to reach agreement on UN membership application.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
PA President Abbas with FM Riad Malki at the UN 311 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi)
PA President Abbas with FM Riad Malki at the UN 311 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi)
The Palestinian Authority said on Wednesday that it was weighing its next steps in wake of reports that the UN Security Council has failed to reach consensus on the Palestinian application for membership in the international organization.
Some PA officials in Ramallah said they were "not surprised" by the failure of the UN Security Council members to reach agreement on the Palestinian statehood bid, while others expressed anger with the US Administration for scuttling the application.
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PA President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to hold consultations with his top aides in the coming days to discuss the Palestinian response to the failure of the statehood bid, a PA official in Ramallah told The Jerusalem Post.
The official said that US Administration officials have been talking to top representatives of the PA in the past few days about the need to resume peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
According to the official, the Americans are trying to prevent a scenario where Abbas would resign or dissolve the PA in protest against the failure of the statehood bid in the Security Council.
Another official told the Post that the PA leadership was not surprised by the apparent failure of the statehood bid.
"The Americans have been threatening from day one to foil the application for membership of a Palestinian state in the UN," the official said. "Our plan now is to take the battle to the UN General Assembly, where we are certain to score victory. This will allow us access to many important UN agencies and organizations, including the International Criminal Court."
PLO Secretary-General Yasser Abed Rabbo said that the Palestinians were hoping that at least nine members of the Security Council would support the Palestinian membership request, which was submitted by Abbas on September 23.
He pointed out that eight members of the 15-member Security Council had promised to vote in favor of the statehood bid.
PA Foreign Minister Riad Malki blamed the US Administration for the failure of the Palestinian statehood bid.
"We expected to get nine votes in the Security Council, but it's clear now, with the US counter effort and huge intervention, that we are not going to have these nine votes," Malki told The Associated Press.