The US and Egypt, which is a temporary member of the UN Security Council, have recently passed on messages to the Palestinian Authority leadership asking them not to promote any move against Israel until after the Nov. 8 elections in the US, Ha’aretz reported, citing a senior PA source. The source claimed there have been several messages, direct and indirect—through Arab and Western go-betweens, warning that the US would veto any anti-Israel move initiated prior to the elections, including condemnation of the settlement enterprise.
The source noted that, despite their “dissatisfaction” with these requests, the PA leadership will restrain itself and avoid any UNSC move until after the elections. However, as soon as voting in the US is over, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is determined to accelerate his plan to promote an anti-settlements vote at the council, the source said. The same PA official admitted, however that “so far there has been no agreement on the final draft and we are not clear what the American position would be.”
Sources inside Abbas’s office have told Ha’aretz that the chairman’s recent contacts with US officials, including a meeting with Sec. John Kerry, have not created the impression that the Administration is planning to initiate a UNSC move, or even support another member country’s initiative. “We have no illusions or expectations that the Americans would not veto or torpedo a proposal submitted to the UNSC,” a senior Palestinian official said. “We also haven’t heard of an outline being worked on or any proposal to be put forth in the future. All we hear are ideas.”
A month ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he “hoped” President Obama would not seek to establish a Palestinian state at the UN. Asked if Obama had promised him that he would not seek to establish a state of Palestine without Israel’s cooperation before the end of his term in January, Netanyahu told the Jerusalem Post: “If you’re asking if he spoke to me about this, the answer is no. If you’re asking me if I am hoping that he won’t do this, the answer is yes.”