Obama Pressured By Palestinian President To Help With UN Bid – OpEd
By Jim Kouri
Apparently the Palestinian leaders didn’t get President Barack Obama’s message to wait until after he’s reelected before requesting decisions on foreign affairs issues, an Israeli security source told the Law Enforcement Examiner. In a message sent to the White House on Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Obama that the Palestinian bid for a membership in the United Nations was a pressing issue that required immediate attention.
Abbas had sent the written message to the U.S. president Tuesday, according to the Israeli source.
The Palestinian president urged the Obama White House not to block the voting on the Palestinian request for UN membership which the Palestinians in the West Bank hope will occur in November after a vote by the UN General Assembly.
The Palestinians are seeking a status upgrade to a non-member state after they failed to enter the organization as a full member through the Security Council. Unfortunately for Abbas, he’s not recognized by the entire Palestinian population, with Arabs living in Gaza are under the rule of Hamas, their de facto leaders.
Also active in Gaza are several Islamist groups such as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as well as the Salafists who emanate from Egypt and control a substantial number of Egyptian parliament seats along with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Israeli source noted.
Obama and his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, have repeatedly said they wish the Palestinians to resume peace talks with Israel, which abruptly ended in 2010 over a dispute about Jewish settlement activities.
The Obama administration claims it believes a Palestinian state can be created through a negotiated treaty and agreement with Israel.
U.S. lawmakers are also pushing for an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians before allowing any kind of UN recognition.
For example, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) released the following statement in response to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ Sept. 27, 2012 speech at the UN: “If the Palestinians wish to establish a sovereign state, they must first recognize Israel as a Jewish state and take part in sincere negotiations with Israel. False accusations and misguided plans at the United Nations are a distraction that will not result in statehood — instead, they impede the peace process. Direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are not just the best way to achieve a lasting peace, they are the only way.”
However, on Monday, a Palestinian official claimed that the Obama administration was putting pressure on the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to prevent him from calling for a session to vote on the Palestinian request until a later date, the security source from Israel told the Law Enforcement Examiner.
