{"id":3235,"date":"2014-12-31T12:20:30","date_gmt":"2014-12-31T12:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=3235"},"modified":"2014-12-31T12:20:30","modified_gmt":"2014-12-31T12:20:30","slug":"un-rejects-palestinian-resolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/un-rejects-palestinian-resolution\/","title":{"rendered":"UN rejects Palestinian resolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Gaza\"<\/a>The Security Council rejected a Palestinian resolution demanding an end to Israeli occupation within three years late Tuesday, a blow to an Arab campaign to get the UN\u2019s most powerful body to take action to achieve an independent state of Palestine.
\nThe United States, Israel\u2019s closest ally, had made clear its opposition to the draft resolution, insisting on a negotiated peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, not an imposed timetable. It would have used its veto if necessary but it didn\u2019t have to because the resolution failed to get the minimum nine \u201cyes\u201d votes required for adoption by the 15-member council.
\nThe resolution received eight \u201cyes\u201d votes, two \u201cno\u201d votes \u2014 one from the United States and the other from Australia \u2014 and five abstentions.
\n\u201cWe voted against this resolution not because we are comfortable with the status quo. We voted against it because … peace must come from hard compromises that occur at the negotiating table,\u201d US Ambassador Samantha Power said.
\nShe criticized the decision to bring the draft resolution to a vote as a \u201cstaged confrontation that will not bring the parties closer.\u201d She added that the resolution was \u201cdeeply unbalanced\u201d and didn\u2019t take into account Israel\u2019s security concerns.
\n\u201cOur effort was a serious effort, genuine effort, to open the door for peace,\u201d said Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador. \u201cUnfortunately, the Security Council is not ready to listen to that message.\u201d
\nUntil shortly before the vote, council diplomats had expected the resolution to get nine \u201cyes\u201d votes. But Nigeria, which was believed to support the resolution, abstained. Its ambassador, U. Joy Ogwu, echoed the US position saying the ultimate path to peace lies \u201cin a negotiated solution.\u201d
\nThe Palestinians, nonetheless, could point to support from two European nations, France and Luxembourg, reflecting the growing impatience especially in Europe over the lack of progress in achieving a two-state solution, and the increasing pressure on governments to do something to end the decades-old conflict.
\nThis impatience, and frustration over the Security Council\u2019s paralysis in dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was echoed by many on the council, including the United States.
\nJordan\u2019s UN Ambassador Dina Kawar, the Arab representative on the council, said after the vote: \u201cThe fact that this draft resolution was not adopted will not at all prevent us from proceeding to push the international community, specifically the United Nations, toward an effective involvement to achieving a resolution to this conflict.\u201d
\nMansour said Palestinian leaders will be meeting on Wednesday \u201cand will decide on next steps.\u201d
\nBefore the vote, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the Palestinians can return again to the Security Council, which will have five new members starting Thursday who are viewed as more sympathetic to their cause.
\nIf the council says \u201cno\u201d again, he said, the Palestinians will seek to join the International Criminal Court. They could then press charges against Israel for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
\nFrance had put forward a draft resolution setting the outlines for a peace agreement and setting a two-year deadline for negotiations \u2014 and French Ambassador Francois Delattre told the council he will be pursuing council action to resolve the conflict.
\nIsrael\u2019s image and its standing, especially in Europe, have come under increasing pressure as a result of this summer\u2019s Gaza war and its refusal to halt settlement building.
\nIsrael Nitzan, the Middle East adviser at Israel\u2019s UN Mission, delivered a brief message to the Palestinians after the vote: \u201cYou cannot agitate … your way to a state.\u201d
\nPalestinian President Mahmud Abbas found himself under pressure at home to proceed with a UN vote and to take other measures after months of unrest with Israel. Pressure increased earlier this month after a Palestinian minister died from a heart attack after scuffling with Israeli security forces in the West Bank at a protest against settlements.
\nThat incident came after months of tensions that included the collapse of the latest round of US-backed peace talks, a 50-day war between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, Israeli security measures that restricted Muslim access to a revered holy site in Jerusalem and a spate of Palestinian attacks that killed 11 people.
\nThe violence seems to have mostly subsided in recent weeks but attacks persist.
\nRussia\u2019s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, a strong supporter of the resolution, took issue with the US and others who said it undermined prospects for negotiations.
\n\u201cWe believe this to be a strategic mistake,\u201d Churkin said, \u201cjust as casting off our proposals to do brainstorming in the council in order to determine ways to reinvigorate the negotiating process, including sending to the Middle East a council mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

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