Palestinian official, Dr. Nabil Shaath, stated that there is no confusion in the text that President Mahmoud Abbas intends to submit to the United Nations this month, adding that Abbas will head to the UN telling world leaders “We have decided to raise Palestine’s status to an observer state, and we ask for your recognition”.According to the Maan News Agency, Shaath stated that there will be no problem regarding the text, and no vagueness, as the text will be simple and clear, adding that “the Palestinians have political goals to achieve in this resolution that will garner an overwhelming majority”.
Among these goals is achieving a full member status in international organizations, topped by the International Criminal Court that has legal jurisdiction and does not require resolutions from the United Nations to issue its verdicts, as the Palestinian Authority intends to hold Israel accountable for its crimes by joining the International Court.
“The P.A does not intend to have its own currency or trade, this is a political battle”, he added, “This resolution will enable us join international institutions, and to be a signatory to the Fourth Geneva Convention — Israel does not want any state to be able to prosecute it for its crimes”.
Shaath further stated that the P.A is determined to go to the United Nations, and will not repeat the same mistake of 1988 when the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) managed to achieve the recognition of 95 states, “but the problem was that, back then, we asked for upgrading the status of the Palestinian Liberation Organization to Palestine status, instead of demanding to be recognized as a State”.
The Palestinian official also said that the United States and Israel were willing to approve the Palestinian demands under the condition that the P.A. refrains from joining international institutions, mainly the International Criminal Court as both Washington and Tel Aviv do not recognize this court, Maan reported.
He also said that the Palestinian leadership is seriously considering strategic options in the coming stage, including the possibility of holding legislative elections.
“We held local council elections in the West Bank, and are weighing the possibility of holding legislative elections”, Shaath said, “We cannot keep the situation held this way, awaiting stances from the Hamas movement”.
As for Egypt, and the Arab Spring, Shaath said that he told the Egyptians that “Your Spring strengthens us in countering the Israeli occupation, but Hamas believes that the Arab Spring strengths it against Fateh movement, not against Israel”.
He added that the Egyptian leadership’s straight and direct response was that it wants a Palestinian State on its border “not a Muslim Emirate or an atheist one”.
