Arabs Readying Draft On Palestinian State for U.N. Security Council

Arab League foreign ministers have endorsed a draft resolution setting a timeframe for the creation of a Palestinian state and said they would formally present it to the United Nations Security Council for a vote within days.

The ministers said in a statement after their meeting that a follow-up committee including Jordan, an Arab member of the Security Council, would begin to seek international backing for the resolution. Arab League chief Nabil al-Araby said Jordan would present the draft to the Security Council within days.

A proposed resolution on a Palestinian state is unlikely to gain the support of veto-wielding council member the United States. It is not clear whether Washington would engage in formal negotiations on such a document.

France, Britain and Germany are also drafting their own resolution, diplomats said, which would set out parameters for trying to end the conflict. They have not yet circulated a text to the 15-council members.

Abbas warned in his speech that his government could limit contacts with Israel and suspend security coordination if the resolution failed to pass at the Security Council, and that Israel would bear responsibility for the consequences.

This article appeared in print on page 6 of the December 1st, 2014 edition of Hamodia.