TEL AVIV – In a shameful display of rogue diplomacy, 72 countries – minus Israel – are set to attend a Middle East “peace” conference in Paris on Sunday widely expected to set the parameters for a future Palestinian state.
Fresh from his 70-minute speech two weeks ago largely singling out Israel for condemnation, lame-duck Secretary of State John Kerry will represent the U.S. at the Mideast confab. There, Kerry is slated to represent the Obama administration in crafting a “consensus” document on an Israeli-Palestinian deal.
This after a U.S. abstention last month allowed the passage of a United Nations Security Council Resolution calling the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem “occupied Palestinian territories,” and demanding a halt to Israeli construction in those areas.
Some of the holiest sites in Judaism are located in eastern Jerusalem and the West Bank, including the Western Wall and Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City; the Cave of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs in Hebron, which was home to the oldest continuous Jewish community in the world until the Jews of Hebron were massacred and expelled; the Tomb of Rachel in Bethlehem; and Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus – biblical Shechem.
The Associated Press on Friday reported on what it said was a draft statement that may be presented at the conference calling on Israel and the Palestinian Authority “to officially restate their commitment to the two-state solution.”
Continued the AP on the draft statement:
It also will affirm that the international community “will not recognize” changes to Israel’s pre-1967 lines without agreement by both sides.
The draft says that participants will affirm “that a negotiated solution with two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, is the only way to achieve enduring peace.”
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rightly described the Paris summit as a “rigged” effort aimed at inflicting damage on Israel.
The Paris onslaught may not be the end of it. Two weeks ago, Breitbart Jerusalem cited a senior PA official saying the PA has been in contact with the Obama administration and European countries about the possibility of taking more UN action based on the outcome of the Paris conference.
Citing the official, Breitbart Jerusalem reported:
The official said the UN action could come in the form of declarations by UN bodies, including the General Assembly; UN sessions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; or even another United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution. He said any further UNSC resolution would depend on the support of the U.S. and European countries after the upcoming Paris Mideast summit slated for January 15.
He said the UN action would seek to set the parameters of a future Palestinian state with a clear timeline for negotiations. If the action comes in the form of a resolution at a UN body, it could call for an infrastructure to establish mechanisms to enforce last month’s UNSC resolution.
The PA official said the proposals set forth at the Paris Mideast conference will likely serve as the basis for upcoming UN action.
An Israeli official told Breitbart Jerusalem that the Israeli government is aware of the possibility of more UN action in the coming weeks, although the official did not have information about a new UNSC resolution.
Instead, a spokesperson for the State Department pointed to Tuesday’s press briefing with Deputy Spokesperson Mark C. Toner at which Toner was asked about future action on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and replied that the Obama administration will continue to “work until January 20th.”
The process of using international mechanisms to pressure Israel can only be viewed through the lens of a diplomatic assault on the Jewish state.
If the Palestinians wanted a state, they would not have to resort to introducing anti-Israel resolutions at the UN. Israel has offered the Palestinians a state in much of the West Bank and Gaza Strip with a shared capital in Jerusalem numerous times. These offers were made at Camp David in 2000, Taba in 2001, the Annapolis Conference in 2007, and more offers were made in 2008. In each of these cases, the PA refused generous Israeli offers of statehood and bolted negotiations without counteroffers.
The PA has failed to respond to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s unprecedented attempts to jump-start negotiations aimed at creating a Palestinian state, including freezing Jewish construction in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem and releasing Palestinian prisoners.
Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.
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