The proposal calls for the condemnation of Israel for continuing to build on the Palestinian territories and in East Jerusalem.
Sa’eb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said during a meeting with visiting UK Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, the Jewish settlement activity in West Bank and East Jerusalem should be stopped instead of calling the Palestinian Authority and the and Arab states to postpone presenting the draft resolution to the UNSC.
Erekat was referring to the US administration rejection of the draft resolution.
Erekat added that the “continuation of (Israeli) occupation, arrogance, logic of force and imposing facts on ground became the real danger against the stability and prosperity of the region.”
The Palestinian official said that he and the UK minister discussed efforts to restart stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
On Tuesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Israel should “freeze all settlement activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem” to show commitment to its obligations in order to resume the negotiations.
Russia, together with the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, comprise the Quartet of international mediators observing the Middle East peace process.
Medvedev told a news conference after his talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Jericho that the Quartet is “unsatisfied over the current status of the peace process,” adding that the Jewish settlement “ blocks any progress from moving forward.”
In September, the US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians collapsed after Israel refused to extend a 10- month moratorium over freezing settlement constructions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Since then, the Palestinians seek to get international recognition of their state after the Israeli government resumed building settlements in the West Bank in September.
In addition to Medvedev’s statement of recognition of an independent Palestinian state on Tuesday, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay have all formally recognized Palestinian independence.
Nabil Sha’ath, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, said that Paraguay, Peru, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic are expected to announce their support for Palestinian state. Palestinian officials have reportedly been in contact with Honduras, Guatemala, and El-Salvador and are making progress on receiving official recognition from these countries.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry described this Palestinian campaign as a “political intifada” aimed at securing as much international legitimization as possible before their expected petition to the General Assembly of the United Nations in September.
Meanwhile, the Israeli daily Haaretz said quoted diplomatic sources in New York as saying that Spain will be the first country in Western Europe to recognize Palestinian independence.
The sources said that the recognition could potentially influence other countries in Europe to make the same decision.
