Ramallah: The submission of a UN draft resolution demanding an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines by the end of 2017 has drawn a spate of threats by Israeli senior officials.

Terming the submission in a range of ways -- an act of aggression a declaration of war -- the Israeli ministers threatened to put in place harsh responses, including dismantling the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and cutting of the tax revenues the regime collects on behalf of the PNA.

Palestinian officials, on the other hand, warned about a vague UN resolution based on the return to inconsequential direct negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

“The submission of draft amounted to an act of aggression,” said Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli Foreign Minister in a statement. “Mahmoud Abbas (Palestinian President) is trying to censure Israel, a process that serves no real purpose and would have no benefit for the Palestinians bur rather worsen the conflict.”

Liberman said that such measures will not advance steps towards a permanent agreement, as “without Israel’s consent, nothing will change on the ground.”

“The UN Security Council should worry about other pressing issues and disputes elsewhere in the world and should not waste its time with the Palestinians’ gimmicks,” he said.

'Act of war'

Yuval Steinitz, the Israeli minister of intelligence, international relations and strategic affairs branded the Palestinian-sponsored UN draft resolution an “act of war.”

Steinitz urged the Israeli government to weigh every possible harsh response and to consider every move to punish the Palestinians.

“The [PNA] continues to incite against us, against our existence, against the Jewish nation. If it continues to take unilateral action, we need and will respond not only in international sphere but also in the Palestinian sphere and to consider dismantling the PNA,” Seeinitz told Israeli Army Radio.

Responding to the Palestinian-sponsored UN draft, Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel said his regime should respond with a construction boom in Occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank, referring to the building of Jews-only colonies. In a Facebook post, Ariel urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strengthen Israeli control in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

“Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) are part of Israel and as legitimate as Tel Aviv and Haifa. We should state this clearly,” he said.

On the Palestinian side, Tayseer Khalid, a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), warned the Palestinian leadership about getting involved in negotiation manoeuvres that will make core of the resolution another attempt to resume the stalled direct peace talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

Model

Khalid recalled UN Security Council Resolution No. 435 which clearly stated the council’s position on the independence of Namibia.

He said the resolution adopted on September 29, 1978 put forward proposals for a ceasefire and UN-supervised elections in South African-controlled South-West Africa which ultimately led to the independence of Namibia.

Importantly, the resolution established the UN Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) which oversaw the election and the South African withdrawal. “The UN Security Council should follow this model,” he told Gulf News.

The wording of the draft has been problematic for some Palestinian politicians and analysts as the draft sets a 12-month deadline to reach a final peace deal with Israel and the end of 2017 as the date for completing an Israeli withdrawal to pre-1967 lines.

It also defines a series of parameters for the negotiated solution including a phased Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territories according to a time frame.