Obama calls for peace talks but reaffirms US support for Israel

 

News in pictures
News in pictures
On Facebook
From the blogs

Crimbos? We could be heading for EastEnders gone mad

The whole point of the Asbo was to prevent anti-social characters wreaking havoc in local communitie...

The Debate: Should brothels be legalised?

While some will hold the sex workers should be respected in their resistance to the upheaval, it is ...

Taking away benefits from heroin users won’t solve anything

It was reported today that Ian Duncan Smith is threatening to stop heroin addicts from being able to...

Chelsea Flower Show 2012: The winners

Of course, gold is the top honour, but that shouldn't detract from the other medals. If someone wins...

Warning that there was "no shortcut" to a Middle East peace settlement, President Barack Obama sought yesterday to persuade Israeli and Palestinian leaders to re-start direct negotiations – and thus blunt the Palestinian bid for full United Nations membership that Washington has vowed to veto.

But as Mr Obama held separate talks with Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, prospects of a early breakthrough seemed remote. With the US President sitting beside him, the Israeli Prime Minister flatly declared that any attempt to secure statehood via the UN would not succeed. "The Palestinians want statehood but aren't prepared to offer peace to Israel in return," Mr Netanyahu said.

Barring an astonishing last-minute reversal, Mr Abbas will make the application official when he addresses the General Assembly tomorrow. It is certain of broad but mainly symbolic approval by the assembly. But the critical arena is the 15-member Security Council, where the US would wield its veto, if a statehood resolution won the required majority of nine votes.

Mr Obama's overriding goal, however, is to prevent matters reaching that point, which would be a lose-lose situation for the US. A veto would shatter what remains of Washington's credibility in the region, after his embrace of the democracy movements of the "Arab Spring".

But to refrain from a veto would play into the hands of his Republican opponents at home, who accuse him of abandoning the Jewish state – in the words of Mitt Romney, a leading contender for the 2012 nomination, of "throwing Israel under a bus".

In his address to the General Assembly, Mr Obama sought to walk that tightrope, re-affirming America's support for a Palestinian state, but stressing that a settlement could only be reached by negotiation and compromise, "not by statements and resolutions at the UN". Peace, he warned, "is hard work".

Addressing a domestic political audience as least as much as the world leaders listening in the chamber, Mr Obama pledged unwavering US backing for Israel. He spoke explicitly of the hostility to it across the region, of Iran's threats to "wipe Israel off the map", and the historical persecution of Jews that culminated in the Holocaust. "Friends of the Palestinians do them no service by ignoring these truths," he added.

But those words cut little ice with Mr Abbas and his delegation, frustrated by decades of failure to secure peace. There was a gap, complained Yasser Abed Rabbo, the secretary-general of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, "between praising the struggle of Arab peoples for the sake of freedom and between an abstract call for negotiations between us and the Israelis".

Yesterday, Mr Netanyahu again called on the Palestinians to return to the bargaining table, but gave no public sign of any concession on settlements or anything else. Nor did Mr Obama go into specific issues in his speech.

The one hope is that procedural requirements mean any vote in the Security Council is probably some weeks off, offering a window in which a formula could be found for a restart of talks. And as Mr Obama spoke, frantic efforts were taking place to avert such a diplomatic disaster.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, called on the UN to grant the Palestinians the status of observer state, like the Vatican, while outlining a one-year road-map to peace. A US veto in the Security Council, he warned, could plunge the Middle East into new violence. But the stakes are highest of all for Mr Obama as he tries to right his struggling presidency and preserve Washington's influence in the Middle East.

The options: Full vs partial membership

What would full membership mean?

The Palestinians believe that full UN membership would level the playing field when it comes to negotiations with Israel, enhancing their ability to extract concessions. Instead of an occupying state negotiating with an occupied territory, the relationship would shift to that of state versus a state. But, in taking the full membership route, the Palestinians would not only defer a vote by months as various subcommittees review the application: they also invite almost certain failure, because the US will use its veto against a bid for statehood.

What would partial membership mean?

Palestinians could pursue the so-called "Vatican option" – an upgrade of their status from a non-member entity to that of a non-member state. The resolution would probably pass with little difficulty, given that it would only require a majority in the General Assembly, where the Palestinians have a strong base of support. Some Palestinian leaders see this as the best route to full membership, giving them in the meantime access to various international bodies, including, it is thought, the International Criminal Court. The latter is a deeply worrying prospect for Israel, which could be exposed to legal challenges over its policies in the Occupied Territories.

Catrina Stewart

Career Services

Day In a Page

In pictures: Royal Stamps of approval

Royal Stamps of approval

Royal Mail's Diamond Jubilee tribute
GB’s Beach Volleyball squad ‘stop traffic’

Beach Volleyball team 'stop traffic'

GB squad promotes TfL's Get Ahead of the Games campaign
Andreas Whittam Smith: Authenticity is a great asset in a leader. David Cameron lacks it

Andreas Whittam Smith

Authenticity is a great asset in a leader. David Cameron lacks it
Back in the thick of it... Alastair Campbell returns to work as a spin doctor

Back in the thick of it... Alastair Campbell returns to work as a spin doctor

Labour's master of media manipulation is back in the PR business
Supermarkets accused of ripping off shoppers with 'misleading' offers

Supermarkets accused of ripping off shoppers with 'misleading' offers

Which? survey reveals that buying single items can often be cheaper than attractive-looking multipack promotions
The art of industrial espionage

The art of industrial espionage

Corporate investigation may lack the glamour of Bond and Bourne, but the two worlds aren't so far removed...
From fashion to film: Jean Paul Gaultier on his week as a Cannes juror

Jean Paul Gaultier: From fashion to film

The fashion designer discusses his week as a Cannes juror
Therapist who tried to 'cure' me of being gay thrown out – but the system is still broken

Therapist who tried to 'cure' me of being gay thrown out...

... but the system is still broken, says Patrick Strudwick
In a Sudanese field, cluster bomb evidence proves just how deadly this war has become

In a Sudanese field, cluster bomb evidence proves just how deadly this war has become

Aris Roussinos speaks to the villagers demanding UN help
'I don't want it to be boring': Former circus producer reveals plans for Diamond Jubilee river parade

Diamond Jubilee river parade

Former circus producer Adrian Evans reveals his plans for the Thames Pageant
VIP treatment: Life is golden in the Olympic fast lane

VIP treatment: Life is golden in the Olympic fast lane

As the rest of us get used to being also-rans in the race for tickets, a chosen few are preparing to enjoy nothing but the very best of London 2012
Forest guards told to shoot poachers on sight after rash of tiger killings

Forest guards told to shoot poachers on sight after rash of tiger killings

India hits back against hunters who sell body parts to Asia for use in traditional medicines
Mining tycoon beats Wal-Mart heiress to title of richest woman

Mining tycoon beats Wal-Mart heiress to title of richest woman

Industrialist Gina Rinehart earns £32m a day from her Australian iron-ore concerns
Language: The cussing room floor

Language: The cussing room floor

Ken Loach is the latest director to complain about censorship. The rules on swearing are so arbitrary, it's no wonder he's effing and blinding
The 10 best car gadgets

The 10 best car gadgets

From a wide-angle HD camera to a satnav that shows you real-time images of the road ahead...