Agorism
11-20-2010, 09:20 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101119/ts_nm/us_palestinians_israel_usa
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Away from the headlines, Palestinians have been trying to advance their statehood agenda in small but symbolic ways in United Nations agencies that fall off the radar for most people.
But even on the outer reaches of the sprawling U.N. system, their efforts are seen to have been blocked by a United States seemingly resolved not to display any tilt toward Palestinians as it tries to broker peace talks with Israel.
Many Israelis suspect President Barack Obama is bent on establishing a Palestinian state at any cost. But in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinians' limited self-rule in the West Bank, they think he is not as serious about it as he sounds. Even the Palestinian president has questioned U.S. resolve.
At a meeting of the International Telecommunications Union last month in Mexico, the Palestinian delegations tabled a motion designed to secure them the rights of a member state, said Sulaiman Zuhairi, a senior Palestinian official.
"We could have gone to voting and got what we wanted," he said, saying it was endorsed by around 50 countries and was on track to pass with the backing of an additional 40 states.
"We asked for the rights and privileges of a state but without being a member state. Let them call us whatever they want, but I wanted all the rights of a member state," he said.
There were U.S. objections, however, and the Palestinians backed down, fearing the consequences of rocking the boat, which Zuhairi did not detail. "We realized that what we can get via agreement is much better," he said.
"It could cause reactions that would obstruct things that might have otherwise worked. So we always try to go to a compromise," he added.
There was no comment from the U.S. State Department on his account. But the U.S. objections were consistent with a long-standing policy that treats Palestinians as no more than an observer member of the United Nations.
ABBAS DESCRIBES U.S. STATEMENTS AS "SLOGANS"
The Palestinians had hoped for more from an administration publicly committed to their statehood. Their president, Mahmoud Abbas, is blunt about his disappointment with Washington.
In a November 11 speech, he expressed his frustration with the U.S. approach, focusing on Washington's opposition to the idea of the Palestinians seeking U.N. Security Council support for the establishment of their state.
He reminded Obama that Palestinian statehood "is a promise and a debt around your neck and it must be realized," but seemed to dilute expectations when he said U.S. support for Palestinian statehood was "still at the stage of slogans."
A Palestinian official, who declined to identified, added that the United States, though pouring generous funds into Palestinian projects to develop institutions for statehood, was not offering enough support on the political level. "They are speaking out of both sides of their mouth," the official said.
Obama's peace envoy, George Mitchell, has said on every visit to the region that Washington is relying on Israel and the Palestinians to refrain from any unilateral steps that could harm negotiations on the core issues.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in Washington the United States did not want Israel or the Palestinians to do anything that might prejudice their stalled talks.
"We have encouraged both sides to avoid steps which are perceived as undermining the negotiation," he told reporters.
"Some of the public statements that have been made in recent days by Palestinian officials about taking issues to the United Nations ... would preempt the direct negotiations that we believe are the best route to a two-state solution," he added.
Israel has also warned the Palestinians against unilateral steps, saying direct negotiations are the only way to achieve peace.
In September, the United States opposed a Palestinian attempt to gain wider rights in another U.N. body out of concern it could undermine attempts to revive the peace talks, a Palestinian official involved in the initiative said.
The Palestinians were making their first bid for full access to the UNESCO committee where states may seek the return of antiquities, antiquities ministry official Hamdan Taha said, adding that the Palestinians aim to recover tens of thousands of artifacts removed during the Israeli occupation.
Their proposal would have allowed the Palestinians and the Vatican, which both have observer status, to table their concerns in the same way as member states, said Taha.
But the U.S. representative alone opposed the idea, he said.
"In the U.S. intervention, it was noted that the change Palestine had demanded introduced a new element. It wasn't a complete rejection, but an attempt to delay the discussion."
"They did not have a green light."
(Editing by Douglas Hamilton and Myra MacDomald)
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Away from the headlines, Palestinians have been trying to advance their statehood agenda in small but symbolic ways in United Nations agencies that fall off the radar for most people.
But even on the outer reaches of the sprawling U.N. system, their efforts are seen to have been blocked by a United States seemingly resolved not to display any tilt toward Palestinians as it tries to broker peace talks with Israel.
Many Israelis suspect President Barack Obama is bent on establishing a Palestinian state at any cost. But in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinians' limited self-rule in the West Bank, they think he is not as serious about it as he sounds. Even the Palestinian president has questioned U.S. resolve.
At a meeting of the International Telecommunications Union last month in Mexico, the Palestinian delegations tabled a motion designed to secure them the rights of a member state, said Sulaiman Zuhairi, a senior Palestinian official.
"We could have gone to voting and got what we wanted," he said, saying it was endorsed by around 50 countries and was on track to pass with the backing of an additional 40 states.
"We asked for the rights and privileges of a state but without being a member state. Let them call us whatever they want, but I wanted all the rights of a member state," he said.
There were U.S. objections, however, and the Palestinians backed down, fearing the consequences of rocking the boat, which Zuhairi did not detail. "We realized that what we can get via agreement is much better," he said.
"It could cause reactions that would obstruct things that might have otherwise worked. So we always try to go to a compromise," he added.
There was no comment from the U.S. State Department on his account. But the U.S. objections were consistent with a long-standing policy that treats Palestinians as no more than an observer member of the United Nations.
ABBAS DESCRIBES U.S. STATEMENTS AS "SLOGANS"
The Palestinians had hoped for more from an administration publicly committed to their statehood. Their president, Mahmoud Abbas, is blunt about his disappointment with Washington.
In a November 11 speech, he expressed his frustration with the U.S. approach, focusing on Washington's opposition to the idea of the Palestinians seeking U.N. Security Council support for the establishment of their state.
He reminded Obama that Palestinian statehood "is a promise and a debt around your neck and it must be realized," but seemed to dilute expectations when he said U.S. support for Palestinian statehood was "still at the stage of slogans."
A Palestinian official, who declined to identified, added that the United States, though pouring generous funds into Palestinian projects to develop institutions for statehood, was not offering enough support on the political level. "They are speaking out of both sides of their mouth," the official said.
Obama's peace envoy, George Mitchell, has said on every visit to the region that Washington is relying on Israel and the Palestinians to refrain from any unilateral steps that could harm negotiations on the core issues.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in Washington the United States did not want Israel or the Palestinians to do anything that might prejudice their stalled talks.
"We have encouraged both sides to avoid steps which are perceived as undermining the negotiation," he told reporters.
"Some of the public statements that have been made in recent days by Palestinian officials about taking issues to the United Nations ... would preempt the direct negotiations that we believe are the best route to a two-state solution," he added.
Israel has also warned the Palestinians against unilateral steps, saying direct negotiations are the only way to achieve peace.
In September, the United States opposed a Palestinian attempt to gain wider rights in another U.N. body out of concern it could undermine attempts to revive the peace talks, a Palestinian official involved in the initiative said.
The Palestinians were making their first bid for full access to the UNESCO committee where states may seek the return of antiquities, antiquities ministry official Hamdan Taha said, adding that the Palestinians aim to recover tens of thousands of artifacts removed during the Israeli occupation.
Their proposal would have allowed the Palestinians and the Vatican, which both have observer status, to table their concerns in the same way as member states, said Taha.
But the U.S. representative alone opposed the idea, he said.
"In the U.S. intervention, it was noted that the change Palestine had demanded introduced a new element. It wasn't a complete rejection, but an attempt to delay the discussion."
"They did not have a green light."
(Editing by Douglas Hamilton and Myra MacDomald)