Palestinians pull request for UN vote on Trump peace plan

The Palestinians have abandoned their request for a vote at the UN Security Council on Donald Trump’s peace plan.

Mahmoud Abbas responds to the Trump peace plan in Ramallah on January 28. Picture: AFP

The Palestinians have abandoned their request for a vote at the UN Security Council today that they hoped would reject the peace plan of US President Donald Trump.

Introduced by Indonesia and Tunisia, the resolution risked not having nine out of 15 votes in its favour, the minimum required for adoption provided there was no veto by a permanent member, the diplomats said.

A diplomat claimed that the US had placed “very strong pressure” on other countries on the Security Council, including threats of economic retribution.

Despite the setback, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will go ahead today and address the Security Council about Mr Trump’s January 28 plan, which paves the way for Israeli annexation of much of the West Bank but also allows for a demilitarised Palestinian state.

“Consultations are still ongoing,” Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said of the proposed resolution.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, urged Mr Abbas to cancel his trip, accusing him of dwelling on the past and calling on him to focus on the future.

The US would be certain to exercise its veto to any resolution that criticises its plan.

Diplomats said it was far from certain that the Palestinians could pull off a repeat of the ­December 2017 vote in which all 14 other Security Council members denounced Mr Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The US has proposed a series of amendments to the draft resolution that could come up for a vote at the session attended by Mr Abbas. In proposals seen by Agence France-Presse, the US would significantly alter the text to remove references to lines before the 1967 Six-Day War, in which Israel captured the West Bank, as being the basis of peace.

While recognising that the Trump plan “departs from the internationally endorsed terms of reference and parameters”, the US wants the resolution to state that the Security Council “welcomes discussion on this proposal to advance the cause of peace”. Diplomats cast doubt on whether a vote could take place even at a later date, considering the wide divergences in positions.

The Palestinian leadership has enjoyed the backing of the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation and the ­African Union, which have all rejected the Trump plan. But individual countries’ positions are more complicated. In the midst of pushing for the UN resolution, Tunisia abruptly withdrew its UN ambassador, raising speculation it had come under pressure from Washington.

After appearing last Friday at the UN, Jared Kushner, Mr Trump’s son-in-law and adviser who has spearheaded his Middle East push, said there was a “ton of cracks” in opposition to the plan.

He pointed to divisions within the EU, which failed to issue a joint statement critical of the plan. Of the four EU members that hold seats on the Security Council, two of them — Germany and Estonia — looked ready to abstain from a vote criticising the US plan, diplomats said. The other two members are France and Belgium.

The ambassadors of Bahrain, Oman and United Arab Emirates attended Mr Trump’s unveiling of the plan alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who later held a breakthrough meeting with Sudan’s top general.

AFP