Abbas to submit timetable for Palestinian state

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will reportedly submit a timetable for the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders to the Security Council this week, the Haaretz newspaper reported quoting senior officials in the Palestinian Authority.

While the proposal, which also sets a timetable for the end of the Israeli occupation, will be submitted regardless of the United States’ stance, the Palestinians are said to be surveying whether the proposal would amass a majority vote.

“This proposal will be submitted because we want to make clear to the international community that the status quo cannot continue infinitely, nor can we be dependent on the good graces of the government of Israel, and that is what Abu Mazen [Abbas] made clear in his [U.N.] speech,” officials were quoted by the Israeli daily as saying.

A U.S. veto would not serve American interests or “the war on terror that the United States is leading,” adding “because in such a situation the administration will stand against justice and international law, and most countries in the world that have already recognized a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders. The United States will place itself in opposition to the nations of the world, and especially the Arab countries that are cooperating with it in the war on terror.”

The spokesman told the Haaretz that the Palestinian position has the support of all Arab countries. As to the European stance, Abu Rudeinah explained that all countries who voted for Palestine two years ago in a landmark General Assembly resolution that accorded Palestine a status of a non-member observer state, would support it this year again, in addition to other countries.

However, he noted that the resolution would not be submitted until after final consultations with Arab countries and member states, including the United States.

During the scheduled time for the proposal, the Palestinian government will hold a full cabinet meeting in Gaza at the end of Eid al-Adha, which coincides with the end of this week. The meeting will draw from agreements reached in the Cairo reconciliation talks.