Washington: As many as 16 US Senators
have asked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to oppose a UN resolution that is being drafted by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in an effort to unilaterally dictate terms to Israel, enabling the PA to avoid direct negotiations.
"We are very concerned about reports that the
Palestinian Authority is drafting a resolution intended for
consideration at the United Nations Security Council regarding
issues that have been and should continue to be pursued
through direct negotiations between the Palestinian Authority
and Israel, namely borders and settlements," the Senators said
in a letter to Clinton.
"We believe such a move hurts the prospects for a
peace agreement and is not in the interest of the United
States," said the letter signed by the Senators led by Senator
Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.
"We strongly urge you to make clear that the United
States will veto such a resolution if it is raised at the
Council, and to clearly communicate United States` intent to
do so to other Security Council members," it said.
"A resolution of this nature would work against our
country`s consistent position, which has been that this and
other issues linked to the Middle East peace process can only
be resolved by the two parties negotiating directly with each
other," Gillibrand wrote in her letter.
"Attempts to use a venue such as the United Nations,
which you know has a long history of hostility toward Israel,
to deal with just one issue in the negotiations, will not move
the two sides closer to a two-state solution, but rather
damage the fragile trust between them," it said.
PTI
