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Israel, int’l leaders in frantic last-minute efforts to avert Palestinian UN bid

14 September 2011 17:22 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. In an effort to thwart a unilateral Palestinian move at the United Nations to recognize an independent Palestinian state, United States special envoys Dennis Ross and David Hale on Wednesday returned to the region, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The two are here to meet with Israeli and Palestinian National Authority (PNA) officials in a last-ditch effort to get the Palestinians return to direct talks with Israel, before the UN General Assembly goes into session on Sept. 20.

The international figures joining the American envoys here on the same mission, include European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, and Quartet envoy Tony Blair. The Quartet is comprised of the United States, the United Nations, Russia, and the EU.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle visited with Israeli officials on the same issue earlier this week.

All of the envoys tried to encourage the Palestinians not to turn to the UN, and to announce a resumption of direct final- status talks with Israel.

While one of the possibilities to help make that happen, according to the visitors, would be an Israeli announcement of a freeze on settlement construction. Officials here have rejected such a statement saying nothing was achieved by a previous 10- month freeze except to provide the Palestinians with a lever to up their demands even more, a source close to the government told Xinhua on Wednesday.

A senior aide to PNA President Mahmoud Abbas, Nimmer Hammad, on Wednesday told Israel army radio that President Shimon Peres passed on such an offer to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, the government has already rejected both demands.

"In relation to this, a senior American official in Washington told an individual in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office that the construction freeze in the West Bank was an American mistake, inasmuch as the act did not advance negotiations," the source said.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday warned that the Palestinian UN move could have "dire consequences."

Lieberman said that Israeli concessions did not lead to peace.

"We left Gaza Strip, down to the last millimeter. Do we have peace and quiet?" he asked rhetorically, at a venue on the south of the country.

Meanwhile, Washington is warning both Israelis and Palestinians about "the day after" a UN resolution on Palestinian statehood. American UN Ambassador Susan Rice said Tuesday that she hopes that within the Palestinians’ calculations are also considerations about "what happens the day after."

"It appears that Rice is referring to Palestinian statements saying that the day after the UN recognizes them as a state, Palestinian organizations will then turn to the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and start filing lawsuits against Israel for assorted (war) crimes," the source said.

However, Israel "... is preparing a long list of tools to punish the Palestinians, although the precise method has yet to be chosen," according to the source.

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon referred to one of the measures during an address to a forum in Beersheba on Tuesday.

"If the Palestinians take one-sided measures, Israel will weigh changing the status of eastern Jerusalem and the settlement blocks in Judea" and the West Bank, Ayalon said.

Another option is the cessation of tax payments to the Palestinians. Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz delayed the last monthly payment, after a series of militant and rocket attacks on Israel several weeks ago.

The Americans, however, have asked that Israel not implement either of these two options, or any other measure that could neutralize the possibility of negotiations in general.

Home Front Defense Minister Matan Vilnai on Wednesday termed the Palestinian UN move a "huge mistake."

Vilna’i also said that the PNA leadership itself was divided on the validity of the UN request.

There are disagreements between Abbas and (Palestinian Prime Minister Salam) Fayyad and there are continued diplomatic efforts to stop them, Vilna’i said, according to The Jerusalem Post.