Jordan on Tuesday launched a bid to win backing for a U.N. resolution on a final Israeli-Palestinian settlement that could be presented to the Security Council in the coming weeks, Agence France-Presse reported.



Jordanian Ambassador Dina Kawar is set to meet with representatives from Arab countries and council members to gauge whether a “unified text” for advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace has support.

Kawar added that a draft resolution could be presented to the council later this month or in January, pending a consensus.

“We are going to try to make it before Christmas, if not it will be in January,” Kawar told reporters.



“We really want to get everybody on board. That’s our intention.”



The Palestinians, backed by the Arab League, circulated a draft resolution at the end of September that called for ending the Israeli occupation by November 2016.



The draft resolution ran into opposition from the United States and other members of the council as Europeans – led by France – began talks on a separate draft that would set a timeframe for ending negotiations.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told parliament last week that a final settlement should be reached within two years.



“We will be sitting together and seeing how the possibilities of working with everybody to get as close as possible to a unified text,” said Kawar.



Palestinian representative Riyad Mansour told AFP on Monday that he expected the new resolution to be presented by the middle of the month, with a vote to quickly follow.



“The French are moving more and more, trying to bring all the European colleagues together, and I think that eventually they will succeed,” he said.



Jordan’s push at the United Nations comes as France’s National Assembly voted in favor of recognizing Palestine in a non-binding measure similar to those adopted in Britain, Spain and Ireland. Sweden has offered recognition of Palestine while Denmark is also planning to hold a vote.

(With AFP)



Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:45 - GMT 06:45