US will not back Palestinian UN resolution

State Department says Washington will not support motion that sets late 2017 deadline for Israel’s occupation.

The draft resolution calls for Israeli troops to be withdrawn from Palestinian territory by the end of 2017 [AP]

The United States will not support the current resolution put forward by the Palestinians setting the terms of a peace 
deal with Israel, a US official said.

Washington has seen the text of a draft resolution circulating in the UN Security Council and “it is not something that we would support,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Thursday.

“We think others feel the same and we are calling for further consultations. The Palestinians understand that.”

The resolution, submitted to the Security Council by Jordan on behalf of the Palestinians, would set a 12-month timeline for wrapping up peace negotiations and a late 2017 deadline for an Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian lands.

“We wouldn’t support any action that would prejudge the outcome of the negotiations or would set a specific deadline for withdrawal of security forces,” Psaki said.

Jordan submitted the resolution after lengthy discussions at the UN headquarters

Meanwhile in Ramallah, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said that he supports further negotiations on the proposed resolution.

As a permanent council member, US has often vetoed measures targeting Israel.

Palestinians seek statehood in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and blockaded Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as their capital – lands captured by Israel in a 1967 war.

The draft resolution states that a negotiated solution should be based on several parameters including the 1967 borders, security agreements, and “Jerusalem as the shared capital of the two States which fulfills the legitimate aspirations of both parties and protects freedom of worship.”

The text also “calls upon both parties to abstain from any unilateral and illegal actions, including settlement activities, that could undermine the viability of a two-state solution.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he believed that the majority of the Security Council members “understand that this resolution is very, very counterproductive”.

Source: News Agencies