Palestinian Authority UN envoy Riyad Mansour
Palestinian Authority UN envoy Riyad MansourReuters

The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Ambassador to the UN on Friday confirmed reports that the Palestinians are discussing a new draft UN resolution with Arab countries to confront Israel over its construction in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem, AFP reported.

The UN Security Council failed in 2011 to adopt such a resolution after the United States used its veto to block the measure which said this construction is "illegal."

PA Ambassador Riyad Mansour said the resolution would clarify the Security Council position on “settlements.”

"We've been saying that if that is the assessment of the Security Council, then it is the responsibility of the Security Council to take action to stop settlement activity," Mansour told AFP.

"We feel that this has to materialize in some form of action," he said, adding, "If you give the prognosis, you have to tell us what the medicine would be."

Talks on the draft resolution were ongoing among Arab countries, with Security Council member Egypt expected to take the lead if the draft resolution is presented for a vote.

PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas is to travel to New York later this month to sign the Paris climate accord on April 22 and hold talks on a new French push for peace.

Abbas will be in Paris on April 15 to meet with French President Francois Hollande before heading to Moscow and Berlin for talks on reviving the peace process.

"If the Security Council acts, it would be helping tremendously the French initiative," said Mansour Friday.

But in a clear reference to the United States, he added, "Those responsible for denying the Security Council from acting would be responsible for not helping to remove this major obstacle from the path of peace."

Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon swiped down the proposed resolution on Thursday night, calling it an attempt "to deceive the international community by putting forward initiatives that do nothing to better the lives of either side of this conflict."

"The Palestinians must understand that there are no shortcuts.  The only way to promote negotiations starts by them condemning terrorism and stopping the incitement, and ends with direct negotiations between the two sides," he added.

The move marks the latest effort by the PA to embarrass Israel and have it condemned in international institutions.

In 2014, the PA submitted a resolution to the UN which called for Israel to “end the occupation” - that is, to withdraw from Judea and Samaria - by 2017.

The draft resolution would have set a 12-month deadline for wrapping up negotiations on a final settlement and the end of 2017 as the time frame for completing an Israeli withdrawal from Judea and Samaria.

The resolution was put to a vote in the UN Security Council late last year, but failed to secure enough votes in favor to pass. Abbas later said he would go to the UN again and try to have a withdrawal from Judea and Samaria imposed on Israel.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)