Palestinians to resubmit request to UN to end Israeli occupation of West Bank
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RAMALLAHMar 19, 2015 - 12:00 am GMT+3
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Mar 19, 2015 12:00 am
Palestinians said Thursday they would resubmit a draft resolution to the UN Security Council that sets a deadline for ending Israel's occupation of the West Bank, the first measure in response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's election victory.
They would then push for Palestine to be accepted as a full member of the international organization, a measure which would further complicate efforts to restart peace talks with Israel.
Such a resolution was rejected last year, but the Palestinians this time hope for US support.
The Palestinians also threatened to stop security and economic cooperation with Israel, although observers noted that would be hard to implement.
Abbas convened the top body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Ramallah on Thursday to discuss the strategy the Palestinians should now take, with Netanyahu assuming a third consecutive term in office.
"What we heard recently is very worrying," he told the PLO Executive Committee.
It showed the Israeli government was "not serious" about the two-state solution.
A PLO statement condemned Netanyahu's "reckless racism campaign."
It added it will "take the necessary steps to complete the accession to the International Criminal Court," of which the Palestinians are scheduled to become a member on April 1.
The Arab- and French-drafted resolution rejected by the Security Council on December 31 demanded a full Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank by the end of 2017.
The White House would not say whether it would support the resolution.
But The New York Times quoted US officials as saying that Washington may now agree to the passage of a UN Security Council resolution embodying the principles of a two-state solution that would include Israel's 1967 borders with Palestine and mutually agreed swaps of territory.
If true, that would be a first. Until now officials would never have taken such action at the UN, which would have been seen as too antagonistic to Israel.
The US defence of Israel at the United Nations and other international bodies has rested on the principle of a two-state solution, Earnest told reporters, but added that no decisions about a change in US policy have been made.
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