The Arab
League has backed a plan by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to seek
international approval for a Palestinian state at the UN Security Council.
Member state Jordan is due to present the draft resolution.
Deutsche Welle, 29 Nov 2014
Arab League
chief Nabil Elaraby said on Saturday that Jordan, which is currently a
non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, would present a draft
resolution setting out a timetable for the creation of a Palestinian state.
"The
Palestinian issue has been circulated in the past, but what is new today is
that the Arab states and Palestine decided to go to the Security Council,
through Jordan, with an Arab draft resolution," Elaraby said following an
extraordinary meeting of Arab League foreign ministers in Egypt's capital
Cairo, according to Reuters news agency.
Arab League
foreign ministers attending in extraordinary League meeting decided to press
the issue and to create a follow-up committee to seek international backing for
the draft resolution. It comprises Kuwait, Mauritania, Jordan and Arab League
chief Nabil al-Araby.
'Internationalizing'
the issue
Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas said there had been no other option but to turn to the
international community.
"The
current situation in the Palestinian territories cannot continue," he told
League ministers in Cairo, according to Reuters.
"There
is no longer a partner for us in Israel and there is nothing for us but to
internationalize the issue," Abbas said.
The
proposed resolution is not likely to be passed by the UN Security Council
because the United States, Israel's main ally, holds veto powers. It may also
fall short of the needed number of votes.
'Jewish
nation' not recognized
Elaraby
also ruled out League recognition Israel as a Jewish nation, following moves by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to enshrine Israel's
status as the Jewish national homeland in Israeli law. Israel's Knesset
parliament is due to vote on the proposal on December 3.
The last
round of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations brokered by the United States
collapsed in April. Since then, relations have worsened, with Israel and Hamas
militants in the Gaza Strip fighting a deadly 50-day war earlier this year.
Fatal
outbreaks
That was
followed by continued settlement-building by Israel on occupied territory and
fatal outbreaks of violence between Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem and
further afield.
Palestinians
seek to establish a state on land captured by Israel in a 1967 war,
encompassing the Israeli-occupied West Bank, blockaded Gaza Strip and a capital
in East Jerusalem.
Several
countries have held symbolic votes on whether to recognize Palestine as a
state, including Spain and and Sweden. Parliamentarians in France are due to hold a similar vote on the issue on December 2.
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