Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., December 18, 2008 Kislev 21, 5769 | | Israel Time: 04:51 (EST+7)   Back to Homepage web haaretz.com Haaretz Toolbar Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate GA 2008 Travel Week's End Anglo File

Last update - 10:27 14/12/2008 UN set to adopt resolution urging Israel, Palestinians to continue talks By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent Tags: Bush, UN, Israel news  The United Nations Security Council is expected to adopt a resolution on Tuesday calling on Israel and the Palestinian authority to continue negotiations on the core issues during the course of 2009, after both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders have completed their terms, in efforts to achieve "two states for two peoples." The core issues on the negotiations table between Israel and the Palestinians include the fate of Jerusalem, parts of which the Palestinians envision as the capital of their future state, the fate of the Palestinian refugees, and the borders of a future Palestinian homeland. Sources in Jerusalem said that the move was likely to force Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu to commit to the peace deal brokered at the November 2007 Annapolis conference, should he be elected prime minister in February, as polls predict. Advertisement The Annapolis talks had set a goal of achieving a substantive peace accord before President George W. Bush leaves office in January. The move to bring the council to adopt the resolution was personally led by U.S. President George W. Bush, who hosted the Annapolis conference. The initiative is seen as a bid to cement the Annapolis process with the approval of the highest authority. Bush believes that a UN resolution will sum up his efforts toward Middle East peace and underscore his vision of two states for two peoples. Bush is also interested in making the Annapolis process "irreversible" with the resolution, shielding it from the administration changes in both Israel and the U.S. Security Council members met Saturday in an emergency session to discuss the resolution, strongly backed by Russia, which appears to have near-unanimous support. A vote on it by the 15-nation council is expected Tuesday. The council would reiterate its vision of a region where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders. Those U.S.-sponsored talks had set a goal of achieving a substantive peace accord before President George W. Bush leaves office in January, a scenario that appears all but impossible now. "Now, the U.S. focus is on a smooth hand-off to President-elect Barack Obama that keeps up the momentum for peace," said U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, who made a symbolic point of standing beside Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin while addressing reporters after the council session. "This is an important time for the council to express itself on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. There is transition taking place here - by here I mean the United States - and there is of course also transition possibilities in other countries in the region," Khalilzad said. "It's also important," Khalilzad said, "that nations recognize the progress that has been made and for this process ... to be sustained, and for the council to express its support so that there is no pause in the negotiations once Bush leaves the White House." Churkin said the draft resolution was presented to council members Saturday for the first time as a culmination of this close joint work between the U.S. and Russia, which have been at serious odds much of this past year over Zimbabwe, Georgia and other issues. "We believe it's very important to continue the momentum," Churkin said. "Of course, we all cannot be satisfied with where the peace process is at now. But considerable effort has been made over the past 12 months or so. And we believe that the effort has to be pinned down, and it has to continue without a pause, which may be there because of some political circumstances: change of administration in the United States, elections in Israel, possible elections in the Palestinian autonomy." On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will come to the UN for two days. First she will take part in a meeting of the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators - the European Union, the United States, Russia and the United Nations - that also will meet with Arab partners for talks on Middle East peace efforts. The next day she is participating in a council session on piracy from Somalia. "It is very important for the Security Council to show that they are on the side of the people on the ground in the Middle East," said French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, whose nation holds the EU presidency until the end of the year. He said France has been urging for a long time that the Security Council get involved in the Mideast peace process. "So for us it could be a very important milestone ... to go forward to the solution of two states living side-by-side in peace," Ripert said. Before the council votes on the Middle East resolution, Libya has asked that it include language directed against Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The Arab peace plan calls for Arab recognition of the Jewish state in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from all lands captured in the 1967 Six-Day War. Not since November 2003 has the council passed a resolution on the Middle East that calls for collective peace by insisting on a two-nation solution for Israelis and Palestinians, according to Security Council Report, an independent not-for-profit organization. That earlier resolution, unlike the latest proposal, also had mentioned the need for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, including the Israeli-Syrian and Israeli-Lebanese tracks. The council needs only nine members to pass the new draft resolution, but diplomats said that with a resolution on such a complex issue as this one, some of its strength would be derived from passing it unanimously. Even if that does not occur, the resolution appears to be headed toward near-unanimous passage, several Security Council diplomats said. With all five of the council's permanent members on board, there appears to be no threat that any of them - the U.S., Russia, China, Britain or France - will use their veto power. "The Security Council, for a long time, has not been able to pronounce itself on anything on the Middle East process, or on the situation in the Middle East," Churkin said. "So to have this political statement coming out of the Security Council at this crucial juncture will not be an insignificant achievement." Related articles: 60 years on, Israel-bashing diminishes message of UN human rights council UN forum: Israel systematically violating Palestinian human rights UN General Assembly chief: Some Security Council members worse than Iran More headlines How has Bernard Madoff $50 billion Wall Street scam affected Jewish charities? Bookmark to del.icio.us   Picking up the pieces U.S. Jews ponder 'catastrophic' effects of Bernard Madoff affair. Adolf Hitler, toddler Three-year-old Adolf Hitler finally gets his name on his birthday cake.   1.   The Proposed Resolution Sounds Predictably Vague To Me 01:08  |  Jeff Northridge 14/12/08   2.   jeff 01:53  |  Axel 14/12/08   3.   If 40 % Want to Leave, This Can`t Be Right 02:08  |  JI aka Yussef Gideon 14/12/08   4.   Another impotent belch from the East River 02:25  |  Mark Lincoln 14/12/08   5.   UN Resolution towards peace good idea 02:30  |  Smadar 14/12/08   6.   What other country puts up with this pressure from the UN? 03:02  |  Isaac 14/12/08   7.   The "Axels" continue to deny Hamas exists 04:21  |  GZLives 14/12/08   8.   What `pressure`` Isaac? 06:35  |  Mark Lincoln 14/12/08   9.   The UN. UNRWA, UNHRC are all Muslim backed Organisations 07:54  |  Honesty 14/12/08   10.   UN, will you conquer Gaza? 08:11  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 14/12/08   11.   Most peoples are simply not well informed? 08:14  |  Jean Van Daem 14/12/08   12.   "Two states for two peoples" takes us back to Partition 08:22  |  Naftali Lavie 14/12/08   13.   Don` worry Isaac 09:03  |  Nour 14/12/08   14.   UN resolutions mean nothing because the UN is nothing! 09:15  |  UN=UselessNobodies 14/12/08   15.   Tears of what? 09:51  |  Ben 14/12/08   16.   does "two states for two peoples." mean 13:51  |  Zev 14/12/08   17.   Where the intl.community goes so wrong 14:53  |  Alicia 14/12/08   18.   The wingnuts won`t like this... - 4th try 01:46  |  BBSNews 15/12/08   19.   Yes to Annapolis means yes to Saudi Plan as only foundation! 11:53  |  Ivar 15/12/08

Read & React Jurists tell Barak: Don't shell Gaza population centers Responses: 226 Olmert: Qassam attacks require a response, and there will be one Responses: 107 3-year-old Adolf Hitler finally gets his name on his birthday cake Responses: 103 Amira Hass: Hamas expects Israel to foil two-state solution Responses: 45 Barak: Iran could attack the U.S. with a nuclear bomb Responses: 67 More Headlines 02:18 Knesset speaker, ex-Likud hawk capture top spots in Kadima primary 01:18 Barak: Iran could attack U.S. with nuclear bomb 03:21 IAF strikes targets in Gaza in response to Qassam fire 00:32 Mofaz: Dispute between bus drivers definitely caused fatal Eilat crash 02:56 Leftist U.S. Jewish group backs conscientious objectors who shun IDF enlistment 01:55 Report: Jews of Yemen to be relocated following murder 02:41 Bush shoe-throwing incident spawns viral games on the Web 02:22 Britain steps up fight against West Bank settlements 14:06 3-year-old Adolf Hitler finally gets his name on his birthday cake 13:55 Russia to supply Lebanon with 10 MiG-29 fighter jets 02:03 Barak to Haaretz: I was hurt by Amos Oz's words 04:28 Jurists tell Barak: Don't shell Gaza population centers 17:38 Hamas leader: No truce unless Israel eases Gaza restrictions 02:07 Largest-ever number of ex-journalists may enter Knesset 02:48 Government mulling proposal to repair Muslim holy sites Previous Editions Select Day 17 dec 16 dec 15 dec 14 dec 12 dec 11 dec 10 dec 09 dec 08 dec 07 dec 05 dec 04 dec

Special Offers Advertisement Summer in Israel Israeli style - Tzofim Chetz V'Keshet 2009 Summer Camp in Israel The best place for your children this summer Living in Israel Studying in English Click & Meet our students from all around the world Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. Car rental in Israel Shlomo Sixt Receive $15.00 from our low rates. Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Jewish Singles Personal Ads Find the love of your life on JDate.com Hebrew Summer courses From $39.95 Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel

birthright Israel | Search engine marketing

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved