PLO officials divided before Abbas UN speech
Published today (updated) 29/09/2014 12:30
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=730519

NEW YORK (Ma'an) -- Palestinian officials were divided on the approach
President Abbas should take before his Friday speech at the United Nations
during the 69th annual General Debate.

A source close to Palestinian officials in New York told Ma'an that the
delegation had discussed three approaches to address the assembly.

The first camp was in favor of unambiguously declaring that the PLO would
hold Israel accountable for war crimes at the ICC, based on the belief that
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition would never
allow peace talks to bear fruit.

Officials supporting this position said that Netanyahu would continue
settlement expansion and would never return Palestinian land to the PLO.

The second camp urged Abbas to move slowly on going to the ICC and use
neutral language to avoid angering the United States, believing that a
Palestinian State will eventually be established.

The third position, which had most support, was to strongly condemn Israel's
actions without upsetting the US administration.

Officials said that Abbas should use international relations and Arab allies
to direct the "Palestinian public's anger against the Israeli occupation
while keeping the door open to understandings with the US administration."

In his speech, Abbas said that a return to direct negotiations was
impossible and accused Israel of committing "genocide."

Abbas, however, did not set a deadline for fast-tracking to Palestinian
statehood, after aides suggested they were eying 2017 as the year for
Palestine to be born.

Abbas said a resolution backed by Arab countries would be presented to the
UN Security Council to re-launch talks with a view to reaching a final
settlement with Israel on the two-state solution.

It remained unlikely that such a resolution would garner support within the
15-member council, notably from the United States, which has repeatedly
vetoed resolutions seen as undermining Israel.


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