Agencies/Doha/West Bank
 |
|
HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the meeting of the Arab Peace Initiative in Doha yesterday |
The Arab Peace Initiative Committee which met in Doha under the chairmanship of HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani decided to go to the UN to call on its member countries to recognise the State of Palestine in accordance with the June 4 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital and to muster international support for this step both at the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council.
This came at the final statement issued at the close of the meeting the committee held in Doha yesterday.
“It was decided to go to the UN to request the recognition of the state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital and to move ahead and request a full membership,” said the communique.
The statement did not provide a timeline indicating the application would be made in time for the UN assembly in September.
The Committee also decided to assign the Arab Group at the United Nations to prepare for this move, to take the necessary legal procedures.
Full member status would require approval in the Security Council, where Israel’s ally the US had said it would veto any such resolution.
The Palestinians, who currently hold UN “observer” status, had previously pledged to seek UN endorsement in September for their claim of sovereignty in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The Arab League formally backed this plan in May.
But in the face of opposition from Israel and some world powers, the Palestinians had previously signalled they might opt for a more limited upgrade to “non-member state” status, which requires only General Assembly approval.
A Palestinian delegate said the Arab League had appointed a committee to determine dates.
In its statement the Committee urged the chairman of the committee, the Arab League secretary-general, the state of Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and any other interested countries to follow up the situation and take practical steps to mobilise the support required from all world countries and from the Security Council members in order to secure the recognition the State of Palestine in accordance with the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, as well as its full membership in the United Nations.
Israeli officials had no immediate comment on yesterday’s Arab League decision.
Palestinian analyst Talal Okal said the Arab League and Palestinians are aware of the obstacles they face, including a U.S. veto, but have chosen to push forward because, with peace talks frozen, they see no other diplomatic solution.
“The Arab consensus means that there is disappointment over the American position, that the negotiations have reached a dead end and that we have entered a stage of political battle,” Okal said.