BICOM

The UK appeared to lend its support yesterday to a push within the United Nations (UN) Security Council to set out a framework for brokering a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).

France’s UN Ambassador Francois Delattre told the Council, “It’s the responsibility of this council to adopt a consensual and balanced resolution that sets the parameters of a final status and a timeline for the negotiations.” It was a sentiment backed by the UK envoy Mark Lyall Grant who said that London sees merit in “setting out the parameters for a peaceful and negotiated solution,” adding “this will require proper consultation to achieve the full backing of the council.”

Meanwhile, non-permanent Security Council member New Zealand said that it had already begun “working on a text that might serve the purpose of getting negotiations started,” according to Ambassador Jim McLay. He said that the time was now appropriate for such an initiative following Israel’s election last month and prior to the upcoming US presidential campaign.

France has been working on its own initiative for the last several months as a basis for a potential Security Council resolution. It is thought that the French draft would call for the completion of a peace agreement within two years. McLay said that New Zealand is open to supporting the French initiative “if it has a chance of succeeding.”

However, any UN push for renewed peace talks would ultimately require the support of both Israel and the PA. The two sides were engaged in negotiations spearheaded by US Secretary of State John Kerry, which ended a year ago after the Fatah faction of PA President Mahmoud Abbas signed a unity government deal with Hamas.

Meanwhile, the United States itself opposed a draft UN Security Council resolution proposed by the Palestinian leadership in December, mandating an Israeli West Bank withdrawal by 2017. Washington has long rejected unilateral actions over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as they undermine the bilateral diplomatic process.