Palestinian Security Council Resolution Submitted Against US, Israeli Protests

Despite being urged to hold-off until after Israeli elections in March and despite the threat of a US veto, the Palestinians submitted the final draft of a UN Security Council resolution Monday night that calls for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations to be concluded within a year and a complete withdrawal by Israel from all lands conquered in the 1967 war by 2017. The final draft takes a more stringent line on the issue of Jerusalem by calling for east Jerusalem to be the capital of Palestine, dropping language that appeared in previous drafts referring to a “shared capital.” A spokesman for the US State Department criticized the measure, saying it’s “not constructive” and that “setting arbitrary deadlines for reaching a peace agreement and for Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank…are more likely to curtail useful negotiations than to bring them to a successful conclusion.” The US administration also charged that the Palestinian draft “fails to account for Israel’s legitimate security needs.” A vote on the resolution is expected to take place on Tuesday or Wednesday. If nine member-nations fail to vote in favor of the measure, the US will not have to exercise its veto. Palestinian officials in recent days have threatened that if the resolution fails to pass efforts to obtain membership in UN bodies and treaties will be accelerated and cooperation between the Palestinians and Israel would be suspended.