France to PA: Don’t resubmit UN statehood resolution
Though FM Fabius warns Abbas against antagonizing Israel, he says Paris will still likely back a renewed Security Council bid
France has warned the Palestinians against antagonizing Israel by resubmitting a statehood resolution to the United Nations Security Council.
France, which voted for the resolution on December 30, was reacting Tuesday to the announcement made two days earlier by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that he would soon resubmit the resolution, Reuters reported.
The resolution before the 15-nation council came up one vote short of the necessary nine needed for a majority, which would have likely triggered a US veto.
“While we think the Palestinians have the right to move the status quo, at the same time there has to be an effort to find a consensus solution,” Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters, according to Reuters. “Once you set this cycle off, you get results that you don’t want one way or another.”
Still, Fabius indicated that France likely would vote for a new Palestinian resolution provided the wording remains basically the same.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry summoned Patrick Maisonnave, France’s ambassador to Israel, on January 2 to explain his country’s vote. The envoy explained that Paris sought to encourage Israelis and Palestinians to resume peace negotiations.