The United States made clear on Tuesday that it is against the Palestinian Authority’s plan to submit a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for an end date for “Israeli occupation”.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated to Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, during a Monday meeting in Washington, that the U.S. was opposed “to unilateral steps by either party that attempt to prejudge the outcome of final status negotiations.”
Nothing has yet been tabled at the United Nations, she noted in her remarks, according to AFP, "so this is a preliminary discussion. And obviously having a back-and-forth and hearing from them is part of the reason to have a meeting."
Urging the UN to call for an end to the Israeli occupation "contradicts their stated goal of a two-state solution and having their own state, an aspiration we support," Psaki added.
Earlier Tuesday, a senior official said the PA would submit the draft resolution later this month.
The PA has been under intense pressure not to push forward with the Security Council resolution, which Washington would have the power to veto.
In response, chief negotiator Saeb Erekat declared several weeks ago that if the United States vetoed the PA’s UN resolution, the PA would apply for membership to 522 international organizations and statutes - in violation of previous treaties with Israel.
Erekat said in a statement quoted by the Ma’an news agency that the PA should also seek recognition by EU countries, especially after the new Swedish prime minister's announcement that his country would recognize “Palestine” and the British parliament's symbolic vote to do the same.
The plans for the resolution have been accompanied by threats from PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and his aides. Abbas recently threatened to cut ties with Israel if his latest unilateral move at the UN fails.
"If all efforts fail, we will end relations with Israel and I will tell Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, ‘Come and take over’. However, I will not dismantle the Palestinian Authority and I will submit a request to join all the organizations belonging to the UN," he declared.
Fatah leader Nabil Shaath recently threatened Israel with a “political war” if there is a negative response to Abbas’s steps at the United Nations.