Strong European Support for Palestinian Statehood Move
By REUTERS
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A Palestinian
bid for indirect U.N. recognition of statehood received vows of support
from more than a dozen European nations as of Wednesday, and diplomats
said this backing may deter Israel from harsh retaliation against the
Palestinian Authority for seeking to upgrade its U.N. status.
A Palestinian resolution on Thursday that would change its U.N. observer
status from an "entity" to a "non-member state," implicitly recognizing
the sovereign state of Palestine, is expected to pass easily in the
193-nation U.N. General Assembly. But Israel, the United States and a
handful of other members of are expected to vote against it.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been leading the campaign to win
support for the resolution, and some European governments have offered
him their support after an eight-day conflict this month between Israel
and Islamists in the Gaza Strip, who are pledged to Israel's destruction
and oppose his efforts towards a negotiated peace.
The U.S. State Department said Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns and
U.S. Mideast peace envoy David Hale traveled to New York on Wednesday in
a last-ditch effort to get Abbas to reconsider.
"We've been clear, we've been consistent with the Palestinians, that we
oppose observer state status in the General Assembly and this
resolution," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
She repeated U.S. warnings that the move could hit U.S. economic support
for the Palestinians. The Israelis have also warned that they might
take deductions out of monthly transfers of duties that Israel collects
on the Palestinians' behalf.
The United States and Israel say the only genuine route to statehood is
at the negotiating table, through a peace accord hammered out in direct
talks with Israel.
Granting Palestinians the title of "non-member observer state" falls
short of full U.N. membership - something the Palestinians tried but
failed to achieve last year. But it would allow them access to the
International Criminal Court and some other international bodies, should
they choose to join them. The Vatican numbers among the U.N.'s
non-member states.
Hanan Ashrawi, a top Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) official,
told a news conference in Ramallah that "the Palestinians can't be
blackmailed all the time with money."
"Some rights aren't for sale," Ashrawi said. "If Israel wants to
destabilize the whole region, it can. We are talking to the Arab World
about their support if Israel responds with financial measures, and the
EU has indicated they will not stop their support to us."
ISRAELI RETALIATION MIGHT BE MODERATE
As there is little doubt about how the United States will vote when the
Palestinian resolution to upgrade its U.N. status is put to a vote
sometime after 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT) on Thursday, the Palestinian
Authority has been concentrating its efforts on lobbying wealthy
European states, diplomats say.
With strong support from the developing world that make up the majority
of U.N. members, the Palestinian resolution is virtually assured of
securing more than the requisite simple majority. But Abbas has been
trying to amass as many European yes votes as possible.
"A strong showing in Europe will emphasize to Israel and the United
States that the Palestinian Authority is widely seen legitimate," a
Western envoy said on condition of anonymity. "It may also give Israel
second thoughts about trying to bankrupt the Palestinians for something
that is really symbolic."
One senior Western diplomat predicted that at least 120-130 countries would vote for the Palestinian resolution.
As of Wednesday afternoon Austria, Denmark, Norway, Finland, France,
Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Spain and
Switzerland had all pledged to support the Palestinian resolution.
Britain said it was prepared to vote yes, but only if the Palestinians
fulfilled certain conditions.
Ashrawi said the positive responses from European states were
encouraging and sent a message of hope to all Palestinians.
"This constitutes a historical turning point and opportunity for the
world to rectify a grave historical injustice that the Palestinians have
undergone since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948," she said.
A strong backing from European nations could make it awkward for Israel
to implement harsh retaliatory measures. Diplomats say that Israel seems
hesitant to take strong action against Abbas as it would antagonize
Western European countries.
But Israel's reaction might not be so measured if the Palestinians seek
ICC action against Israel on charges of war crimes, crimes against
humanity or other crimes the court would have jurisdiction over.
It also seems wary of weakening the Western-backed Abbas, especially
after the political boost rival Hamas received from recent solidarity
visits to Gaza by top officials from Egypt, Qatar and Tunisia.
Hamas militants, who control Gaza and have had icy relations with the
Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, unexpectedly offered Abbas their
support earlier this week.
STALLED PEACE TALKS
No European nations announced they would vote against the non-member
state move, though several U.N. diplomats said privately that the Czech
Republic and Netherlands might be among those that cast no votes.
Neither has announced an official position.
Germany said it could not support the Palestinian move though it was not
clear if it would abstain, like Estonia and Lithuania, or vote against
it.
Europe's undecided countries included European Union members Belgium,
Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden.
Several EU members said they were hoping the 27-nation EU would reach a
common position on the Palestinian move, though U.N. diplomats said that
EU unity was an impossibility.
Peace talks have been stalled for two years, mainly over the issue of
Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which have expanded despite being
deemed illegal by most of the world.
In their draft resolution, the Palestinians have pledged to relaunch the
peace process immediately following the U.N. vote.
Britain said it would be willing to support the Palestinian move on Thursday if two conditions were met.
"The first is that the Palestinian Authority should indicate a clear
commitment to return immediately to negotiations without preconditions,"
Foreign Seretary William Hague told parliament.
"The second assurance relates to membership of other specialized U.N.
agencies and action in the International Criminal Court," he added.
Rights groups said that stance contradicted Britain's stated commitment to accountability for serious crimes.
Israel and the United States have mooted withholding aid and tax revenue
that the Palestinian government in the West Bank needs to survive.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has also viewed options that
include bringing down Abbas.
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