"The Palestinians want the UN Security Council to approve a resolution laying down outlines of a final peace deal with Israel, setting a November 2016 deadline for an Israeli pullout from lands sought for a Palestinian state," Bloomberg reported.
The draft of the resolution backed by Jordan calls upon the UN to recognize an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders and giving Israel a two-year deadline to withdraw from the West Bank. According to the resolution's draft, the Palestinian territories would include the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Predictably, Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli political establishment want the US to veto the forthcoming UN resolution.
"Israel won't accept any unilateral, time-defined measures. We will repulse all efforts to bring terrorism into our home,” Netanyahu said as cited by Bloomberg.
Jerusalem is expecting that Washington will support its stance over the Palestinian resolution.
Experts note that although the US has used its veto numerous times in order "to shield Israel from UN criticism," it may now be less willing to do so as seven western European states have already recognized Palestinian sovereignty. The Americans "don't want to seem again as alone in the Security Council against everyone," Eytan Gilboa, a professor of political studies at Bar-Ilan University, said according to Bloomberg.
Citing a senior US State Department official, the Voice of America notes that Kerry's goal is "to hear" both sides of the conflict while "keeping open" the prospect of the creation of the sovereign Palestinian state. The official added that setting a "hard line" for the peace deal would unlikely resolve "a very complicated security negotiation" between Israel and Palestinians.
Meanwhile, Jerusalem is beating the drums saying that the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank will increase the terror threat from the Hamas militant movement.
"International support for such a unilateral measure would open the door for Hamas to enter the West Bank. Such a step could be destructive for Israel and the Palestinians," stressed the Israeli official as cited by Haaretz.
It should be noted that the Palestinian initiative has coincided with early elections in Israel and according to the latest polls, it's unlikely that Netanyahu would win a fourth term. Curiously, the failure to convince the US to use its veto against the Palestinian resolution may "help Netanyahu in the elections here," notes Professor Gilboa, "because he will be able to say, "Look, you need someone strong here to withstand the international pressure.'"
