BICOM

UN Security Council members will convene today for discussions on the Palestinian Authority’s application for admission to the United Nations as a full member state. Currently, the council’s five permanent members are split over the PA’s request. Therefore, the consultations are not expected to lead to an immediate vote. More likely the member states will seek time to consult and consider the application.

Both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the UN on Friday, after the Palestinians formally applied for admission to the UN as a full member state. Netanyahu told the US media that he was disappointed in Abbas’ speech and said that Israel was trying to move forward with the peace process through direct negotiations, and that the core of the conflict lies in the Palestinian “refusal to accept Israel’s existence.” Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abbas returned back to Ramallah and received a hero’s welcome from a large crowd in support of the statehood bid. Abbas told the crowds that a “Palestinian spring” had begun.

The Quartet issued a statement on Friday proposing a staged process for achieving a peace agreement, and calling for a preparatory meeting between the parties to take place in one month. On Saturday, Netanyahu said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 10 that he was willing to accept the Quartet plan, but was cautious when asked about the chances of reaching a deal by the end of next year. “If the Quartet calls for the resumption of direct negotiations without preconditions, I think it’s an important thing,” he said “If there is a willingness to conclude (the peace deal), it will succeed, because it is promising (but) if the will does not exist, it will not work.” Netanyahu is expected to formally accept the Quartet proposal following consultation with his inner cabinet today.

The initial Palestinian reaction to the Quartet proposal was sceptical. Speaking to crowds of supporters in Ramallah yesterday, Mahmoud Abbas reiterated his position that he will not return to direct talks with Israel without a full settlement freeze. The London based al-Quds al-Arabi reports this morning that Palestinian leaders will convene in the next two days to consider the proposal, quoting Fatah official Saeb Erekat.