BICOM

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will today meet US Secretary of State John Kerry in Rome to discuss various draft United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions, including a Palestinian-backed version to demand an Israeli West Bank withdrawal which could be discussed this week. Kerry will then meet with the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany in Paris to discuss the issue.

Jordan has circulated a draft resolution on behalf of the Palestinian leadership, which would mandate Israel to withdraw from the West Bank within two years. However, France is spearheading their own proposal which it hopes will be backed by the UK and Germany, which calls for the conclusion of an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord within two years.

In the wake of last week’s death of Minister Abu Ein following an altercation with Israeli security forces, the Palestinian leadership, chaired by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, met yesterday to determine next steps. They reportedly decided to continue security cooperation with Israel in the West Bank, but to step up diplomatic activity and present the Jordanian motion to the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

The United States and Israel both oppose unilateral action which would undermine bilateral diplomacy. Washington would likely use its Security Council veto against the Jordanian resolution. Bloomberg quotes PA Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki who said there is “direct American pressure on the financial and political level” to postpone the motion until after Israeli elections in March. Reuters says that the United States wants to similarly delay the French-led motion, although a US official speaking on Sunday did not rule out Washington support for a more consensual Security Council resolution.

Meanwhile, on the eve of his trip, Netanyahu pledged to oppose any attempt to impose a territorial withdrawal on Israel. He said that such an initiative would bring “Islamic extremists to the suburbs of Tel Aviv and to the heart of Jerusalem. We will not allow this. We will strongly and responsibly rebuff this. Let there be no doubt, this will be rejected.”