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US warns Palestinians that statehood bid would harm peace talks with Israel
The Palestinian Authority's statehood bid at the United Nations next month would “jeopardize” the stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, U.S. ambassador Susan Rice said Monday during a Security Council debate on the Middle East.
The Obama administration was able to stop the Palestinians' bid for statehood last year by threatening a veto at the Security Council. This time, however, Palestinians frustrated with the breakdown of negotiations since 2009 have said they will seek recognition as a non-member state, similar to the Vatican, which only needs approval by the General Assembly and isn't subject to veto.
“Unilateral actions, including initiatives to grant Palestinians non-member state observer status at the United Nations, would only jeopardize the peace process and complicate efforts to return the parties to direct negotiations,” Rice said. “Any efforts to use international fora to prejudge final status issues that can only be resolved directly by the parties will neither improve the daily lives of Palestinians nor foster the trust essential to make progress towards a two-state solution.”
“Israel should step up its efforts to deter, confront and prosecute anti-Palestinian violence and extremist hate crimes, including vandalism at religious sites,” Rice said. “We agree with President Peres that 'holy sites must not be harmed.' In the West Bank, the recent and repeated destruction of Palestinian olive groves, a critical source of income for the local population, is deplorable. We look to Israeli authorities to act decisively to protect these resources and investigate such acts.
“Like every U.S. administration for decades, we do not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity. We continue to oppose any efforts to legalize outposts. The fate of existing settlements must be dealt with by the parties along with other permanent-status issues.”
