On
Palestine, OIC
Talks Up UNSC
Resolution, Kerry
Roaming
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 17
-- Amid
reports that
if a Palestine
resolution
fails this
month in the
UN Security
Council,
Palestine will
immediately
join the
International
Criminal
Court, Inner
City Press on
December 11
asked the
State of
Palestine's
Permanent
Observer to
the UN Riyad
Mansour
about it. Video here.
On December 17
from Jeddah,
the Organization
of Islamic
Cooperation
issued this
statement:
OIC
CALLS ON
SECURITY
COUNCIL MEMBER
STATES TO
ADOPT A DRAFT
RESOLUTION
SETTING A
TIMELINE TO
END ISRAELI
OCCUPATION
Jeddah
17/12/2014
The
Secretary
General of the
Organization
of Islamic
Cooperation
(OIC), Iyad
Ameen Madani,
reiterated his
support for
the decision
of the State
of Palestine’s
to seek
a UN Security
Council
resolution to
set
a timeline to
end to the
Israeli
occupation of
the
Palestinian
Land,
establish a
Palestinian
State with
East
Al-Quds as its
capital, and
bring about a
just
settlement for
the issue of
Palestinian
refugees in
line
with
international
legality
resolutions.
He also called
on the
Council’s
Member States
to vote in
favor of the
resolution.
The Secretary
General
indicated that
responding
positively to
the
Palestinian
demand would
contribute
to, and
support
international
efforts aimed
at reaching a
comprehensive,
just,
and durable
peace
agreement on
the
Arab-Israeli
conflict
based on the
vision of the
two-state-solution
in line with
the relevant
international
legality
resolutions
particularly
GA resolution
no 19/67 of
29/11/2012.
On December 16
at the UN
Security
Council itself,
Jordanian diplomats
were
non-committal.
On December
16, a Senior
State Department
official said:
"Today,
Secretary
Kerry met in
London
separately
with
Palestinian
chief
negotiator
Saeb Erekat,
and with Arab
League
Secretary
General Nabil
El Araby and
members of the
Arab League
Special
Committee. In
both meetings,
the Secretary
exchanged
thoughts about
the situation
in the region,
ongoing
deliberations
related to
possible UN
Security
Council
action, and
the United
States'
interest in
finding a path
forward to
reduce
tensions and
de-escalate
the situation
on the ground.
All the
parties agreed
to continue
their
consultations
going
forward."
So what does
this mean, on
the
resolution(s)?
Inner City
Press on
December 11
asked
Palestine's
Observer Riyad
Mansour if the
US was engaged
in any
negotiations
on the
resolutions
proffered by
Jordan or
France. He
said no, then
added "you are
a smart
journalist,"
asking if
France would
do this work
without
coordination
with or
against the
interests of
the US.
Afterward
another
journalist
joked this
meant, "French
puppet." So
what's up?
Back on
December 11,
Inner City
Press asked
Mansour about
the relation
between the
resolution(s)
and Palestine
joining the
International
Criminal
Court.
Mansour said
the two are
not
conditional,
and that
Palestine
wants to join
the ICC, as is
being urged at
the current
session of the
ICC Assembly
of State
Parties at
which
Palestine is
now a
non-member
state. Video
here.
Meanwhile the
US Continuing
Resolution /
Omnibus on
Capital Hill
has this to
say:
"None
of the funds
appropriated
under the
heading
‘‘Economic
Support Fund’’
in this Act
may be made
available for
assistance for
the
Palestinian
Authority, if
after the date
of enactment
of this Act—
"(I)
the
Palestinians
obtain the
same standing
as member
states or full
membership as
a state in the
United Nations
or any
specialized
agency thereof
outside an
agreement
negotiated
between Israel
and the
Palestinians;
or
"(II)
the
Palestinians
initiate an
International
Criminal Court
judicially
authorized
investigation,
or actively
support such
an
investigation,
that subjects
Israeli
nationals to
an
investigation
for alleged
crimes against
Palestinians."
Earlier this
week,
Palestine's
Riyad Mansour
was in UN
Conference
Room 1, with
Palestine a
non-member
state, which
no one opposed
when proposed.
Now this.
Earlier this
month
Palestine and
the Arab
League said
Jordan would
be pushing in
the UN
Security
Council for a
vote in
December on a
draft
resolution
which would
set a timeline
to end
Israel's
occupation,
now January is
being
mentioned.
At first the
commitment was
to have a vote
in November,
when Australia
was president
of the
Security
Council. It
didn't happen.
On December 2,
Inner City
Press asked
the Council
president for
December,
Chadian
Ambassador
Mahamat Zene
Cherif, why
only a "Middle
East debate"
and not a vote
on a Palestine
resolution is
on the Program
of Work for
December.
Ambassador
Cherif said
he is not yet
seized of any
Palestine
resolution.
Amid talk of a
French
resolution --
French foreign
ministry
spokesman
Romain Nadal
said on
December 2
there is "no
rush" on a
resolution --
now Jordan's
Ambassador
Dina Kawar
says "We're
going to try
to make it
before
Christmas. If
not, it will
be in
January."
As Inner City
Press exclusively
reported,
based on
Security
Council
communications,
Chad was
pressured to
not schedule
any meetings
after December
19. It pushed
back, and
scheduled one
for December
22. But that's
it.
Already, the
delay has been
long. It was
cold, for
example, at
the UNRWA
event held
just outside
the UN on
December 2,
photographed
by the Free
UN Coalition
for Access,
here.
In one month's
time,
Venezuela and
Spain join the
Security
Council, along
with Angola,
Malaysia and
New Zealand.
Wouldn't the
draft get more
"yes" votes in
January 2015
than in
December 2014?
Rather than
analyze this,
Reuters for
example again
vaguely
reports that
"some
diplomats have
described the
Palestinian-drafted
text as
'unbalanced.'"
For whom? Now
Reuters adds,
"some Western
Council
diplomats." So
helpful.
Back
on October 21
as the
Palestine
debate of the
UN Security
Council went
on in the
Council
chamber,
Inner City
Press
conferred with
a range of
Council
sources about
the pending
draft
resolution to
set a time
frame to end
Israel's
occupation.
Negotiations
were
held on the
draft last
week but only
at the
“expert”
level, not of
Permanent
Representatives
of the
Council's 15
members.
Supporters of
the current
draft,
according to
Inner City
Press'
sources,
include China
and Russia,
Argentina and
Chile, Chad
and it was
assumed
Nigeria,
although
sources say
Nigeria in
consultations
said they
didn't yet
have
instructions.
France
was described
as more
excited by the
draft than
either the US
or the UK, as
not have a
problem with a
time frame to
end the
Occupation but
wanting
unstated
changes to the
draft. France
did not put
forth
amendments, a
source told
Inner City
Press,
guessing that
France didn't
want to
“embarrass”
the US
Administration
before the
November
mid-term
elections.
The UK
was described
as less
enthusiastic,
but as somehow
“softened” by
the recent
vote in
Parliament
favoring
recognizing
Palestine as a
state.
Talk
turned to the
new members of
the Security
Council coming
in on January
1, with
Malaysia
instead of
South Korea
seen as a
shift in favor
of Palestine
as a state.
(This
reporter's Security
Council
elections
coverage is
collected here.)
Angola and
Venezuela are
seen as
supportive and
“even Spain,”
as one source
put it to
Inner City
Press. But
what about New
Zealand? We'll
have more on
this. Watch
this site.
, 
