The Palestinian Authority (PA) backed away from pushing for a UN Security Council draft resolution condemning Israel’s illegal settlement activity following pressure from Washington, according to multiple reports.
The UN Security Council meeting, focusing on the “situation in the Middle East” and the “question of Palestine”, is scheduled for Monday, February 20 at 10am (15:00GMT) in New York City.
The UAE, which drafted the resolution along with Palestinian Authority officials, informed the UN Security Council that the resolution and the vote would be withdrawn, Reuters said on Monday.
Several other U.S. and Israeli news outlets reported, citing diplomatic sources, that the Palestinian Authority had agreed to abstain from the vote under pressure from the U.S. government, including by promising an economic aid package and temporarily suspending talks on new Israeli settlements and the demolition of Palestinian homes. announcement.
In a report published Sunday, The Associated Press quoted “diplomats familiar with the dialogue” as saying that “Blinken emphasized offering the Palestinians a U.S. incentive package to induce them to drop or at least delay the resolution.”
“These incentives include a meeting between Abbas and President Biden at the White House, a motion to reopen the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem, and a major aid package,” the report continued, adding that “Abbas was noncommittal.”
In addition, “Israel has agreed to several economic measures that will increase Palestinian tax revenue by more than $60 million per year,” said another report published by the Axios news site.
‘Security coordination’ with Israel
The site also said the Palestinian Authority agreed to “start negotiations on resuming security coordination with Israel”. It is a controversial policy that includes sharing intelligence information about militants and publicly saying it is helping Israel thwart attacks. The Palestinian Authority suspended “security coordination” following Israel’s deadly attack on the Jenin refugee camp last month.
It added that the Palestinian Authority began implementing a “security plan” proposed by US officials “to restore its control over the West Bank cities of Jenin and Nablus”. For more than a year, Palestinian armed resistance has grown in these areas.
The Palestinian Authority has not issued any official statement on the reports. But local media quoted a Fatah official as saying that “the steps that the Palestinian Authority will take will only serve the interests of the Palestinian people”.
Al Jazeera reached out to Palestinian Authority officials but had not heard back by press time.
As for Mustafa Barghouti, a longtime Palestinian politician, he told Al Jazeera in an interview that the PA’s decision to withdraw the vote “contradicts the Palestinian national struggle”.
“We refuse to equate two parties, the invaders and occupiers, and the other living under occupation and apartheid. Some say we need to focus on diplomatic and political resistance, so why is the decision to be rejected? What about withdrawal? Is even diplomatic resistance prohibited? Even resistance based on international law?”
“We call on the Palestinian Authority not to agree to withdraw the resolution,” Barghouti added.
The situation on the ground has grown tense over the past few months under Israel’s new far-right government. It has taken steps to further escalate tensions, including the demolition of more homes in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, as well as several large-scale deadly attacks in Palestinian cities.
Most recently, on February 13, the Israeli government approved the “legalization” of nine settlement outposts and announced plans to advance thousands of new illegal settlement units. This prompted the UN Security Council to propose a draft resolution.
The Palestinian foreign ministry said in a statement that the decision crossed “all red lines” and undermined the restart of the “peace process”.
The United States has criticized Israel’s decision to expand the settlements, but has also expressed reservations about pushing the United Nations to condemn the move.
Meanwhile, Israel told the United States on Monday that it would not approve new settlement activity in the coming months.
The Palestinian Authority, with its limited control, claims that the territories occupied in 1967 in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip constitute a future Palestinian state.
Some 700,000 Israeli settlers live in illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
“Anyone who sees this as a diplomatic success for the United States is taking a very narrow and biased perspective,” said Martin Konecny, head of Europe’s Middle East program, in response to the abstention from the UN Security Council vote.
He added: “This is US pressure on the Palestinians to shelve a perfectly legitimate resolution, thereby marginalizing the UN Security Council as the guardian of the international order and protecting Israeli expansionism.”