PA's UN envoy says a draft resolution to revive peace talks will be presented to the UN Security Council by the middle of the month.
A draft resolution to revive talks on a final Israeli-Palestinian settlement is expected be presented to the UN Security Council by the middle of the month, the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) to the United Nations said Monday, according to AFP.
The representative, Riyad Mansour, said the text being shepherded by France is expected to lay out a timeframe for negotiations on a final peace deal and possibly a second deadline for Palestinian statehood.
"The French are moving more and more, trying to bring all the European colleagues together, and I think that eventually they will succeed," Mansour told AFP.
The French-led European initiative is expected to be discussed in Brussels on Tuesday when U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry holds talks with European ministers during a NATO meeting.
The position of the United States, which has repeatedly vetoed UN resolutions seen as pressuring Israel, will be crucial in deciding if the latest push at the United Nations stands a chance, noted AFP.
The PA, which is being backed by the Arab League, has been pushing for a draft resolution that calls for ending the “Israeli occupation” by November 2016.
The text however ran into opposition from the United States and other members of the council, opening the way for the Europeans to try to present an alternative draft.
Mansour said he expected a new draft to be submitted to the Council "soon, possibly in the middle of the month," with a vote to quickly follow.
Any unilateral moves by the PA seeking recognition of a Palestinian state are in violation of the Oslo Accords.
In addition to threatening Israel with UN moves, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas also recently threatened to cut ties with Israel if his unilateral move at the UN fails.
He also reaffirmed on Saturday that the PA “will never recognize the Jewishness of the state of Israel” and said that the security coordination between Israel and the PA would be suspended unless peace negotiations resume.