Abbas says 'no' to Jewish state
Quartet representatives in New York continue efforts to draw up last-minute formula which will prevent Palestinian UN bid; first meeting ends without result due to Palestinian president's refusal to recognize Israel as Jewish State
The International efforts to try to convince Mahmoud Abbas to give up his plans to file a proposal for recognition at the UN concluded Monday morning with no results, and will resume later in the day after Abbas' arrival to the United States.
Before landing in New York Monday morning, Abbas told reporters on the plane that he expects the Palestinians to be in a "very difficult situation" after the UN membership bid.
The Palestinian president urged Israel once again to recognize the Palestinian state and "not to miss out on a chance for peace."
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Earlier on Monday, Israeli officials admitted that the Palestinians' plans for the coming week remain a mystery.
"It is unclear to us whether Abbas intends to go all the way," political officials said while noting that the US continues to exert "intense pressure" in order to prevent the Palestinian UN bid.
Hanan Ashrawi and Abbas in New York on Monday (Photo: AP)
Representatives of the Mideast Quartet met Sunday night in New York to discuss the matter, following a meeting between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
"We are meeting to talk about the way forward," Clinton said as she shook hands with Ashton in a New York hotel. She declined to say if mediators were making progress.
The representatives joined Ashton and Clinton in order to formulate another proposal, according to which the Palestinian Authority will hold direct negotiations with Israel based on the June 4 1967 borders with land swaps. In return, Abbas is required to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and declare the end of the conflict, while agreeing to appropriate security arrangements.
However, the meeting ended several hours later due to Abbas' refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish State. In addition, certain disagreements between the American and European positions remained unsolved.
Watch Bill Clinton commenting on UN vote on Meet the Press
Ashton, on her part, proposed to issue a joint statement saying that Israel and the Palestinians will return to the negotiations table and conclude an agreement within six months, however the Americans refused, claiming that the sides will not be able to keep up with the deadline, and that Abbas will not be able to secure his leadership over Hamas and Gaza in the limited timeframe.
Rather than setting an arbitrary date for the conclusion of negotiation, the Americans proposed a new road map plan, which will include milestones to be reached by both sides.
'Palestinian success story'
Meanwhile, Donor nations on Sunday reaffirmed the Palestinian Authority's readiness for statehood based on new reports from key international financial institutions and the United Nations.
Norway Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, who chairs the donors support group, the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, said at a meeting that efforts "to build robust state institutions and revive the Palestinian economy stand out as a remarkable international success story."
Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon told the meeting that future Israeli economic assistance and cooperation, while essential for the Palestinian Authority to build up its institutions, "could be severely and irreparably compromised" if the Palestinians unilaterally declare a state.
Ayalon urged the donors to "do their best to turn the Palestinian leadership away from confrontational and provocative unilateral steps and lead them back to the negotiating table."
Yitzhak Benhorin and AP contributed to this report
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