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Palestinians Prepare for Showdown with Washington

(Foreign Policy) Colum Lynch - Palestinian officials are circulating a draft UN resolution calling for Israel to withdraw from all of the West Bank by November 2016 and proposing the establishment of an international protection force for the Palestinian people. Like many of the Palestinians' previous diplomatic bids, the latest initiative has virtually no chance of being adopted, according to UN diplomats. It's far from clear that the Palestinians can even garner the nine votes required for adoption of a resolution in the Security Council, where they face a near-certain U.S. veto. For the time being, the Palestinians have assured the U.S that they will hold off on circulating the resolution until after the U.S. elections, according to Western diplomats. The U.S. has long opposed Palestinian efforts to grant a role for the Security Council in managing the crisis. "We are aware of President Abbas' plan and we continue to believe, to strongly believe, that the only way to a negotiated solution is through negotiations between the two parties," said Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the UN.
2014-10-10 00:00:00
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