Palestinians want the UN Security Council to approve some form of monitors for the West Bank and Gaza despite opposition from Israel and the United States, a Palestinian diplomat has said.
The 15-nation council was considering a request from Islamic nations for an urgent meeting on the escalating violence, which Palestinians hope will lead to a resolution. But council members delayed a decision for several hours because of other issues on their agenda.
Nasser al-Kidwa, the chief Palestinian UN delegate, said he had drafted a resolution that would call for a "monitoring mechanism," a vaguer term than previous unsuccessful measures, for an observer force to help end the violence that began nearly a year ago.
"We have repeatedly said that it is the obligation of the Security Council to move and it is our duty to come to the council," al-Kidwa said. "We are trying to do something reasonable and expect others to be reasonable as well."
The resolution would also refer to proposals from former US Senator George Mitchell, who led an international fact-finding mission on the crisis, as well as Israel's seizure last Friday of Orient House, the Palestinians' unofficial headquarters in Jerusalem, al-Kidwa said.
US officials have used the term "monitoring function" to describe the work of a mid-level security committee which brings together representatives of Israel, the United States and the Palestinian Authority.
The committee does not deploy independent monitors on the ground but the United States says it could do so if the Israelis agree and if the violence ends.