Liberman pans Palestinian UN statehood bid

Foreign minister says ‘taunting’ move was orchestrated by Abbas in order to resolve internal Palestinian conflict

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman heavily criticized the Palestinian leadership for turning to the UN Security Council in request to set a November 2016 deadline for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and East Jerusalem Wednesday, asserting that the move would not do nothing to advance peace in the region.

Liberman, a frequent critic of the Palestinian Authority, charged Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas with making the request to boost his standing among the Palestinian population.

“The Palestinian request to the Security Council will not advance us even one inch towards an agreement and towards resolving the conflict,” a statement issued by the foreign minister read.

“It is just another taunting move by Abbas designed to serve him in the internal struggles within the Palestinian arena, and nothing more.”

A draft resolution of Abbas’s request circulated to council members and obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press sets a 2016 deadline for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It also calls for “a just resolution” for the status of Jerusalem as the capital of two states, and for the Palestinian refugee problem. The draft follows Abbas’s announcement to the UN General Assembly on Friday that he would ask the council to set a deadline for an Israeli withdrawal.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly on September 26, 2014, in New York. (photo credit: AFP/Timothy A. CLARY)

The resolution demands an end to all Israeli military operations and settlement activities, the opening of all border crossings in the Gaza Strip, and deployment of “an international presence” throughout the Palestinian territories to protect Palestinian civilians.

The move came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed he was committed to a two-state solution during a meeting with US President Barack Obama. He added that such a solution would require “mutual recognition” and “rock solid security arrangements on the ground.”

President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014. (photo credit: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Netanyahu’s expression of support for a Palestinian state was denounced by Economy Minister Naftali Bennett from the hardline Jewish Home party.

“Someone who is committed to fighting Hamas and ISIS cannot give them a state,” Bennett said, according to Haaretz.

“The idea of a Palestinian statehood has flown away last summer like the missiles over Ben-Gurion Airport, and it would be good if we sobered up from the notion quickly.”

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett speaks at the Haaretz Israel Conference for Peace at the David Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv, Tuesday, July 8, 2014. (photo credit: Flash90)

Bennett also posted a link on his Facebook page to an Haaretz article covering Netanyahu’s statements on a two-state solution, and added a caption reading “never” beneath it.

Netanyahu arrived in Washington following meetings at the United Nations, where he delivered a blistering speech accusing Hamas of committing war crimes by using Palestinian civilians as human shields during the 50-day Gaza war that ended Aug. 26. His speech was a response to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s assertion that Israel had carried out a “war of genocide” during the Gaza fighting.

Abbas said Wednesday that the PA would reevaluate its security coordination with Israel in the West Bank if its statehood bid to the UN Security Council was rejected, and added that the Palestinians would file for membership to the ICC if the resolution failed to pass, according to Arabic media.

Rebecca Shimoni Stoil, Marissa Newman, AP and AFP contributed to this report.