Palestinians Make Strides Toward Draft Resolution at U.N.

By SOMINI SENGUPTA          New York Times           Dec. 17, 2014

UNITED NATIONS — After a day of intense lobbying, the Palestinians persuaded their fellow Arab diplomats here to support a draft Security Council resolution that sets a one-year deadline for negotiations with Israel and is aimed at the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the West Bank.

The draft measure was formally shared with the 15 members of the Security Council, with language that sets down targets for Palestinian sovereignty, including land swaps, a shared capital in Jerusalem and “full and phased withdrawal of Israeli forces” by the end of 2017.

Those strict deadlines are unlikely to muster the support the resolution needs to pass, and even the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, stopped short of pressing for a swift vote. Indeed, he left open the possibility that the language could still be massaged to assuage the concerns of council members, not least the United States, which is Israel’s principal ally and wields veto power.

“We will continue negotiating with all of them, and the Americans if they are ready and willing, so that perhaps we can succeed in having something adopted by the Security Council,” he said at the end of two closed-door sessions with Arab diplomats here.