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Arabs support Palestinian proposal to reach a final peace

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Arab delegations in the UN have thrown their weight behind a Palestinian proposal to reach a final peace deal with Israel within a year and cut off Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories by late 2017. The draft drew fire from the US and Israel. The Palestinian draft resolution on statehood could come up for a vote at the Security Council on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Jordanian UN Ambassador Dina Kawar told reporters on Monday that all 22 Arab delegations approved of the Palestinian proposal. She said the Jordanians and Palestinians would be trying “to find the best way and the best timing to vote on the Security Council resolution.”
“We think it sets arbitrary deadlines for reaching a peace agreement and for Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank, and those are more likely to curtail useful negotiations than to bring them to a successful conclusion,” US State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke told a news briefing on Monday.
“If the Arab-Palestinian initiative submitted to the Security Council to put an end to occupation doesn’t pass, we will be forced to take the necessary political and legal decisions,” Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said last week.
“If it fails, we will no longer deal with the Israeli government, which will then be forced to assume its responsibilities as an occupier,” he warned.

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