Palestinian Vote At UN May See UK Abstain

The UK will abstain from a UN vote granting recognition to a Palestinian state if a commitment to talk with Israel is not made.

The Foreign Secretary said the UK would only vote in favour of an upgrade in the Palestinians' diplomatic status at the UN General Assembly in New York later if they gave an immediate commitment to return to negotiations with Israel.

William Hague said the UK would also require an assurance that the Palestinians would not seek to extend the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the Occupied Territories.

"Up until the time of the vote itself, we will remain open to voting in favour of the resolution if we see public assurances by the Palestinians on these points," he said in a statement to the House of Commons.

"However, in the absence of these assurances, the United Kingdom would abstain on the vote."

His comments drew a dismissive response from shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander who urged him to stop dithering and come out firmly in favour of Palestinian statehood.

He warned it was unreasonable to expect the Palestinians to make an unconditional commitment to return to talks while the Israelis were continuing settlement building on Palestinian territory.

"Statehood for the Palestinians is not a gift to be given but a right to be acknowledged. Abstention tomorrow would be an abdication of Britain's responsibilities," he said.

Hillary Clinton with Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat

The calls came after France announced it was ready to support the resolution to upgrade the Palestinians' status at the UN from observer to non-member observer state, with other European states expected to follow suit.

With the General Assembly dominated by countries sympathetic to the Palestinian cause - and no veto for members of the Security Council - the resolution looks set to be passed, despite the opposition of both Israel and the United States.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned the vote "will not produce the outcome" that many desire.

"The only way to get a lasting solution is to commence direct negotiations," she said.

"And we need an environment conducive to that, and we urge both parties to refrain from actions that might, in any way, make a return to meaningful negotiations that focus on getting to a resolution more difficult."

Israel had already said it would not return to negotiations following the vote, arguing it would undermine efforts to secure a Middle East peace settlement.

Mr Hague told MPs that he, like Mrs Clinton, had appealed to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas not to move the resolution at the General Assembly, but to give the newly re-elected US administration of Barack Obama the chance to launch a fresh peace initiative.

"We pointed out that a UN resolution would be depicted by some as a move away from bilateral negotiations with Israel," he said.

"We were also concerned about the considerable financial risks to the Palestinian Authority, at a time when their situation is already precarious, if a vote led to a strong backlash from Israel and within the US political system," he added.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Palestinian Vote At UN May See UK Abstain

Dengan url

http://congormangap.blogspot.com/2012/11/palestinian-vote-at-un-may-see-uk.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Palestinian Vote At UN May See UK Abstain

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Palestinian Vote At UN May See UK Abstain

sebagai sumbernya