High-stakes diplomacy over Palestinian UN bid

Associated Press

NEW YORK

The United States and Europe raced Sunday to avert or delay a looming United Nations showdown over Palestinian statehood that could crush already dim Mideast peace prospects, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the European Union’s top diplomat meeting in an attempt to come up with a winning strategy.

Clinton and EU foreign-policy chief Catherine Ashton discussed the situation in New York as part of an increasingly desperate effort to bring Israel and the Palestinians back to negotiations without antagonizing either side or embroiling the region in new turmoil.

But with each side locked in intractable positions over the expected Palestinian bid this week for U.N. recognition, chances for a breakthrough seemed slim. Officials said the effort may be more about damage control than diplomacy.

“We are meeting to talk about the way forward,” Clinton said as she shook hands with Ashton in a New York hotel. She declined to say if mediators were making progress.

The Palestinians are frustrated by their inability to win from Israel concessions such as a freeze on settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. They want to seize the moment to try to gain greater standing and attention with a high-stakes wager on statehood and U.N. membership. The U.S. and Israel vehemently opposed this move.

Only a year ago, President Barack Obama said he wanted the U.N. to be welcoming Palestine as its newest member this year. But talks long have broken down, and the U.S. is in the unenviable position of leading the opposition to something it actually supports.

The U.S. has promised a veto of the Palestinian bid at the Security Council, leading to fears the action could spark violence in the region.

The American side was working to secure additional opposition to recognition, officials said. Without nine affirmative votes in the 15-member Security Council, the Palestinian resolution would fail, and Washington is hoping it won’t have to act alone.

U.S. officials believe that six other members may vote against or abstain, meaning the Palestinians would fall short. That tally could not immediately be confirmed.

Heading off or watering down the Palestinian resolution had been the goal of international diplomats. They hoped to parlay that success into a meeting between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in which the two sides would re-launch negotiations.

Yet the Palestinians have refused to back down and give up the little leverage they hope to win.