BRUSSELS – The European Union hopes to persuade Palestinian leaders to drop plans for full United Nations membership this month in return for a nuanced upgrading of their UN observer status, EU diplomats have said.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton went to the Middle East this week to mediate between Israel and the Palestinians to try to revive peace talks and avert a Palestinian statehood bid at the UN General Assembly, which begins on September 21st. The United States has warned that such an attempt would damage chances of reviving talks and has sent envoys to the region this week to lobby the Palestinians. Israel has also said any such move would put an end to negotiations, which were frozen a year ago in a dispute over Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said yesterday he would address the UN next week and urge the Palestinians to negotiate peace with Israel rather than pursue the bid for full UN membership for a Palestinian state.
Diplomats said Ms Ashton was trying to negotiate a package that could include a statement by the Quartet of Middle East negotiators laying out guidelines for future talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.
In Brussels, diplomats said her proposal included a text that would not rule out full UN membership for a Palestinian state in the future but focuses for now on a lesser upgrade of their status coupled with a specific mention of talks. Palestinian representative at the UN Riyad Mansour said Palestinians were still “fine-tuning” their options and that a final decision would be taken in the next few days on whether to go through the security council for full membership or the general assembly for a lesser upgrade of status. – (Reuters)