BICOM

It is reported this morning that US Secretary of State John Kerry told the Palestinian leadership last night that Washington will veto a draft United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution, which would mandate an Israeli West Bank withdrawal within two years.

The Palestinian-backed motion has been circulated by Jordan on behalf of the Palestinian leadership. France is thought to be spearheading something of a counterweight 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. However, the status of the French initiative remains unclear.

Kerry met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Rome on Sunday, who urged Washington to veto the Palestinian-backed resolution and “stand by its position for the past 47 years that a solution to the conflict will be achieved through negotiations.” Kerry then consulted with Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond and his French and German counterparts in Paris, before travelling to London where he met yesterday with Arab League officials and senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Israel Radio and Ynet both report that Kerry told Erekat that the US intends to exercise its veto. Israel Radio says that beyond a long-standing objection to unilateral actions which undermine bilateral diplomacy, Kerry also objected to language referring to Jerusalem as the capital of two countries. However, there was no official word from Kerry, who told reporters in London yesterday, “We’ve made no determinations about language, approaches, specific resolutions, any of that.”

There are conflicting reports regarding if and when the Palestinian-backed resolution will be tabled. AFP quotes a senior advisor to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, saying yesterday “We will submit our project to the UN Security Council tomorrow.” However, Israel Radio quotes another Abbas advisor, Nimer Hamad, who said that the motion would only be tabled if nine Security Council votes were secured. It is unclear though whether such support exists.