Knesset Committee: “Palestinian UN Bid Would Harm Israel Internationally”

Thursday August 04, 2011 08:07 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Foreign Affairs and Security Committee of the Israeli Knesset stated that the Palestinian UN bid to seek international recognition of an independent state this coming September, will worsen Israel’s stance in the international arena, and could lead to “ongoing escalation”.

The Israeli Knesset - knesset.gov.il

The Committee will publish its report on the issue later this month; it was prepared by a team headed by Member of Knesset, Yohanan Plasner, of the Kadima opposition party.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the Israeli Security Agency (Mossad) believes that restarting the stalled peace process could block the Palestinian initiative at the UN.

In its report, the Committee stated that the Palestinians might actually succeed in their plan through the United Nation’s General Assembly.

The Jerusalem Post added that, as the September UN initiative is closing in, Israeli officials are stating that they will be willing to accept a Palestinian State on the pre-1967 border, but still insist that the Palestinians must recognize Israel as a “Jewish State”.

The Israeli government is holding extensive talks with senior officials in the United States, the European Union and Russia in an attempt to have them convince the Palestinians to return to the negotiations table and abandon their UN bid.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, told members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee that he believes, Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, is determined to go ahead with the UN bid, and that other members of Abbas’ Fateh party, including Prime Minister, Dr. Salaam Fayyad, have recently refrained from making statements in this regard.

Netanyahu also believes that there are a number of Palestinian political leaders, close to Abbas, are not very convinced that the UN move is a good strategy at the current time.

The Palestinians had to quit direct talks with Israel as it is ongoing with its violations in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied territories.

These violations include the ongoing construction and expansion of settlements, and demolition of Palestinians homes, especially in and around occupied Jerusalem, ongoing invasions and assaults, and escalating settler attacks against the residents and their lands in the West Bank.

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