Post date: Sep 18, 2011 10:55:8 AM
Landmarks in the history of Israelis and Palestinians, amid Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' determination to request recognition of a fully-fledged Palestinian state at the United Nations this week.
UNITED NATIONS, UNITED NATIONS TELEVISION - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is determined to demand full membership of the United Nations for a Palestinian state when he goes to the U.N. General Assembly later this week, setting up a diplomatic clash with Israel and the United States.
Both Israel and its main ally, the United States, firmly oppose the initiative, arguing that a Palestinian state can only be created through direct negotiations.
The Palestinians say almost 20 years of on-off direct talks on statehood envisaged by interim peace accords have hit a dead end for reasons including Israel's refusal to stop expanding settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, lands it took in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and which Palestinians want, along with the Gaza Strip, for an independent state.
The last round of the U.S.-backed talks between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu collapsed nearly a year ago when the Jewish state declined to extend a partial moratorium on West Bank settlement building.
A full halt to such construction on territory the Palestinians say they need for a viable state is one condition they have set for a resumption of negotiations. Israel withdrew settlers from tiny, coastal Gaza in 2005.
Abbas said the U.N. step would not "end the occupation", but would strengthen the Palestinians' hand.
Washington has said it will veto any statehood resolution in the Security Council. Some U.S. politicians have said they will try to cut American aid to the Palestinians, totalling some $500 million a year, if they refuse to back down.
A statement from Netanyahu's office issued after the speech said the Palestinians were "systematically" avoiding direct talks with Israel.
Abbas said recognition as a state would allow a return to peace talks, but on a stronger footing. "Negotiations, no matter how difficult, will be between one state and another."
A flurry of diplomacy led predominantly by the European Union has sought to avert the U.N. showdown by seeking a deal that would bring about a return to talks within weeks, diplomats say. However, the mediation is struggling in the face of long-standing disagreements over the terms of reference.