Abbas: I’ll Negotiate with Israel if UN Gambit Succeeds”

Despite Israeli and American efforts to derail plans by the Palestinian Authority to seek non-member status at the United Nations, PA President Mahmoud Abbas repeated on Wednesday that he will be ready to return to the bargaining table with Israel once the UN gambit has succeeded. A debate and vote on the Palestinian request in the General Assembly is expected to be held next month. While Jerusalem and Washington have argued that the unilateral plans for elevated UN status would be harmful to the peace efforts brokered by the Quartet – the international entity including the US, UN, EU and Russia – Palestinian officials have said the opposite is true, that negotiations will be helped by what they describe as a leveling of the playing field. More recently, Abbas has sought to put a positive face on the UN gambit by promising to return to talks once the UN action is a fait-accompli. Israel has threatened punitive actions against the PA if it goes through with its UN bid.