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“Jordan Presents Draft of Resolution on Palestinian State to UN”
by The Jerusalem Post   
December 18th, 2014

Print Edition

Kerry says US has "no problem" with resolution.

Jordan formally submitted to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday a draft resolution calling for peace between Israel and the Palestinians within one year that "fulfills the vision of two independent democratic and prosperous states."

The Palestinian-drafted resolution was formally submitted to the 15-member council, which means it could be put to a vote as soon as 24 hours later, but it does not guarantee it will happen. Some drafts formally submitted have never been voted.

Diplomats say negotiations on the text could take days or weeks. Jordan's UN envoy Dina Kawar said she hoped the council could reach a unanimous decision on the resolution.

Nine votes are needed to adopt a resolution, which would then force the United States, a close ally of Israel, to decide whether or not to veto it.

France, Britain and Germany are also drafting a resolution, which French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said would propose concluding peace talks in two years. Other parameters for ending the conflict would also be set, diplomats said.

Palestinians seek statehood in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with east Jerusalem as their capital.

The draft resolution submitted on Wednesday states that a negotiated solution should be based on several parameters including the 1967 borders, security agreements, and "Jerusalem as the shared capital of the two States which fulfills the legitimate aspirations of both parties and protects freedom of worship."

The text also "calls upon both parties to abstain from any unilateral and illegal actions, including settlement activities, that could undermine the viability of a two-state solution."

Israel accepts the "two-state solution" of an independent and democratic Palestinian state alongside Israel, but has not accepted the 1967 borders as the basis for final negotiations, citing security and other concerns.

US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters Wednesday that providing it doesn't heighten tensions, the US "no problem" with the draft, AFP reported.

Kerry, who was back in the US after a trip that included a meeting with Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "we haven't seen the language yet, we don't know precisely what was filed."

Kerry added that he US had been "troubled by some of the language that had been out there at different points of time."

"We don't have any problem with them filing some resolution providing it's done in the spirit of working with people to see how we could proceed forward in a thoughtful way that solves the problem and doesn't make it worse."

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