President Abbas Renews Effort To Push For Palestinian Statehood At UN

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is renewing his push for Palestinian statehood at the United Nations Security Council, and the Arab League said this weekend it is backing his decision to move forward with a new resolution. The U.N. resolution would set a November 2016 deadline to end Israeli occupation, the Associated Press reported Sunday.

Abbas said he will begin consultations on a draft resolution to submit to the U.N. Security Council. He told the Arab League foreign ministers Saturday he had put off pushing for a new resolution at the request of Washington. However, he said: “We cannot wait any longer. The status quo is not sustainable any longer, especially at a time when the Israeli government is continuing its attacks, its settlements, demolishing houses, confiscating lands, and imposing facts on the ground.”

The Palestinian Authority president accused the U.S. of preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state and urged the Obama administration to suport the resolution in an interview on Egyptian television, Haaretz reported.

The last round of U.S.-brokered peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians collapsed in April. Since then, their respective leaders have fought to control escalating violence. Last summer, Israel and Hamas, the group that controls the Gaza Strip, fought a 50-day war. At least 2,000 civilians were killed in Gaza, and at least 60 Israeli soldiers died in combat.

Abbas’ statements about the new resolution comes as Palestinians and Israelis continue to clash in the streets of Jerusalem over the murders of leaders in both communities and control over the Al-Aqsa mosque, which is religiously significant in both Islam and Judaism.

Western nations have already begun to discuss ways to quell the violence in Jerusalem. France said it is working at the U.N. for a resolution to restart peace talks. France has Western Europe’s largest Muslim and Jewish populations.