UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 14, 2008
U.N. Set To Pass Mideast Peace Resolution
U.S., Russia Both Back Resolution Calling For Israelis, Palestinians To Fulfill Obligations Under 2-State Plan
-
Photo
(AP)
-
Interactive
Mideast Conflict
Events, key players and a history of the world's most unstable region.
-
Interactive
United Nations
For more than 60 years, the United Nations has struggled to forge peace, end poverty and heal the world.
Council members met in a closed-door emergency session to discuss a U.S.-drafted resolution, strongly backed by Russia, which appeared to have near-unanimous support.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Zalmay Khalilzad, said a vote on the resolution by the 15-nation council is expected on Tuesday.
The two-page draft resolution calls on Israelis and Palestinians "to fulfill their obligations" under last year's peace deal brokered at Annapolis, Maryland, and for all nations and international groups "to contribute to an atmosphere conducive to negotiations."
“With a year-end deadline looming, the four parties involved in the Middle East Quartet peace negotiations (the United States, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations) met on Saturday and introduced a draft Security Council Resolution, which will be discussed on Monday with the expectation of a vote on the Ministerial level on Tuesday,” said CBS News foreign affairs analyst Pamela Falk from the U.N.
“The objective of the Security Council action is to get the stalled talks back on track and show support for a formal meeting in Moscow in 2009,” Falk reported, “and the participation of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is intended to set the negotiations on a better footing before the Bush Administration leaves office.”
“With support from both the U.S and Russia, the Security Council is likely to get the Resolution passed which supports the peace process and the goal of achieving a two-state solution,” Falk added.
The U.S.-sponsored Annapolis 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 handover to President-elect Barack Obama that keeps up the momentum for peace.
"We believe it is very important at this time to recognize the process that has been made," said Ambassador Khalilzad.
The Middle East peace negotiations have been stalled by a spike in violence in the region and the lack of agreement about resettlement of Palestinians, the fate of Jerusalem and Israeli settlements - and the objective of the talks is to not lose time because of new governments in the U.S and Israel as well as possible Palestinian elections.
“The Bush administration has an interest in passing on to President-elect Obama a peace process that is ongoing and not stalled," said Falk.
Khalilzad announced the draft resolution, symbolically, with Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin while addressing reporters after the council session.
Churkin said the draft resolution was presented to council members Saturday for the first time as a culmination of the close work between the U.S. and Russia, which have been at serious odds much of this past year over Zimbabwe, Georgia and other issues.
Quote
"Of course we all cannot be satisfied with where the peace process is at now," Ambassador Churkin said, "but considerable efforts have 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 with our support, which may be there because of some political circumstances - change of administration of the United States, elections in Israel, possible elections in the Palestinian autonomy - but despite all those circumstances, we believe that there must be continued effort."The Bush administration has an interest in passing on to President-elect Obama a peace process that is ongoing and not stalled
Pamela FalkFrench Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, whose nation holds the E.U. presidency until the end of the year, 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," he 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 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.
"The Security Council for a long time has not been able to pronounce itself on anything on the Middle East process or the situation in the Middle East," said Ambassador Churkin, "so to draft this political statement coming out of the Security Council at the crucial junction will not be insignificant achievement."
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.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
---
You think time ran out because Dubya waited 7 years to try to do something?
I do.
I do.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by formrusmcsgt at 08:45 AM : Dec 14, 2008
Stupid comment, your heads so far up GW''s b utt that you can''t see straight. Throughout his administration Bush has been trying to bring about peace for Israel and the Palestinians. If you have Bush Derangement Syndrome then you will always blame things on Bush, if not, you''ll question the incompetence of the U.N. and their finally coming forward with a plan. Come on U.N. what''s been taking so long? A fight that has been going on for decades and it''s still not resolved. Great job U.N., not!
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob gave Israel the land well before all these Redneck Palestinian terrorist began to occupy the land.
I am a Christian American and I say the land belongs to Israel. All Christian Americans should stand for Israel!
IamHungry68
NOTWITHSTANDING THE FACT THAT THE NATION-STATE CONCEPT IS NOT THE BEST WAY FOR OUR ENTIRE WORLD,
LET THE PARTIES NEGOTIATE AND COMPROMISE
FAR WORSE IS THE "...MYTH AND SUPERSTITION..."
OF DESTRUCTIVE RELIGIOUS FANTASY THAT;
"...HARDENS HEARTS AND ENSLAVES MINDS..."
AND CAUSES MURDER IN THE NAME OF SOME BRAND-NAME OR OTHER OF GOD!
--------------------------------------------
Some individuals simply insist on viewing issues through negatives - from approaching peace efforts and negotiations, to fostering continuing hate and the teaching of hate to children and to others.
If virtually every nation during its formation period, engaged in controversial and forceful actions which result in population displacements in order to achieve independent nation-state status, why do some deny the persecuted minority of ethnically Jewish people their own historically rightful nation? The Romans wrongfully ''kicked them out'' from Ancient Israel, and they should be permitted to return to Israel. But it seems to be the ''in'' thing to beat, abuse, murder, and otherwise commit violent acts against the minority of Jews who have been forced to fight for their historical rights as a nation.
GIVE THE PARTIES SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO
--------------------------------------------
Instead of adding fuel to the fire, wouldn''t it be better to find common grounds to induce a better and hopeful future for these Palestinian and Israeli people?
We have nothing to gain from these bunch of war loving narrow minded people.
The key is to control the extremists.
Radical Islamic fundamentalists must recognize Israel''s right to exist and stop terrorist attacks.
Ultraorthodox Jews who think God gave them the right to kill men, women, and children and steal their land (as recorded in some Old Testament passages) must learn to live in peace with their Arab neighbors.
I look forward to the day when Israeli and Palestinian states can coexist peacefully side by side. Then maybe Jews, Christians, Muslims, and others can all visit one another''s Holy sites in each country.
At best isreal, and arabs, are stratigic. Learn to live while you have the chance. No one cares about your war mongering rightousness. Its all about money. Just like all the countries over there. Money.
I am so tired of this killing and fake war mongering for fake integrety. There is not a True God fearing man in the bunch.
Posted by sockpuppet4
The first sentance speaks of love then the rest of your comments speaks nothing bu hate.
Share the land, Israel and Palestine!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by JesusEyes at 10:49 AM : Dec 14, 2008
Going back to the Green line the Palestinians have 83 % of the Palestinian mandate which includes Jordan of which 90% of the population is Palestinian.
There are also over 1 million Arabs within Israel.
So how do you propose this re-drawing ?
Is the result of Israel withdrawing from Gaza an example of future peace with Israel ?
The UN nations have more pressing needs ... like a failed world economy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by sockpuppet4 at 08:23 AM : Dec 14, 2008
So Easy...even a 3rd grader can do it !
and you would let savages lob missiles into your citys from 8.2 miles away ?
Get a topographical map and a history book to find out why there is no peace there.
At the end its not Israels fault for not trying
BAN ALL RELIGION, BAN RELIGIOUS TEACHINGS, AND ESPECIALLY BAN RELIGIOUS TEACHING OF HATE TO THE CHILD/VICTIMS OF ALL RELIGIONS !!!
Posted by damnedrelign at 11:03 AM : Dec 14, 2008
damnedrelign, your message is more hateful than that which you condemn. Religion is not bad. Religion is not bad unless the leadership or the scriptures command you to kill others.
Banning religion is not going to solve anything other than suppressing a part of humanity which has done the greatest good in this world. Religious establishments like the Catholic and Evangelical churches spend billions of dollars a year on ending poverty, providing charity medical care, and reaching out to the broken.
Banning religion is tyrannical... reminiscent only of dictatorships and communism. What you propose is taking away liberty and freedom of those who seek spiritual guidance, and you force upon them godlessness.
You must be a communist, satanist, or just so "Damned" bitter.
Israel has stolen, dissected and partitioned it into oblivion.
Lasting peace can now only be found in a single-state solution.
No amount of lies, bribery, deception or manipulation will change that.
Posted by GreatDriveW at 01:13 PM : Dec 14, 2008
+ report abuse
*********
Posted by LordSunTzu at 01:15 PM : Dec 14, 2008
you..the UN and the liberal media is SURE TRYING.
*********
Okay, this should be fun - I''ll play along, Lord.
Please, genius, give me a single example.
Why is it that Israel can be in violation of dozens of U.N. resolutions, and at the same time be allowed in the door?
And we wonder why there is unrest in Palestine??
Strike one. I never said anything about anyone killing anyone else, so what the hell are you writing about???
So let''s try again, genius, please give a single example of progressive lies or deceit as they pertain to the Middle East.
+ report abuse
********
Posted by LordSunTzu at 01:30 PM : Dec 14, 2008
the very fact that ISrael has the military might to push the palestinian OUT OF THE AREA but..YES but still have not..is a clear indication that they are willing to meet the demands half way...
*****
What the hell are you writing about?
Israel doesn''t have the military might to remove its terrorist settlers from the West Bank, much less remove all Palestinians. If it were possible for the Zionists to simply kill all their enemies they would long ago have done so. And if you doubt Israel''s military inadequacy, then simply think back to Lebanon in 2006.
Regarding the Zionists being willing to meet half way, again, what the hell are you writing about?
Half way? On Jerusalem? On right of return? On compensation? On the original 1947 borders? I think not.
It''s you who are lying. Either that, or you are so deluded or unimformed that you are completely irrelevant.
Posted by LordSunTzu at 01:35 PM : Dec 14, 2008
*****
European Zionists bulldozed and bombed Palestine into an apartheid wastelan, and now want want more concessions from the indigenous Palestinians?
Unbelieveable - no wait, totally believable!!
the state of Israel HAD SEVERAL OPPORTUNITIES to overtake a Muslim nation but choose to withdraw because of UN protest..
come on..its not like people cannot reference the fact that since carter..the jews had tried to settle this..they even FIGHT WITH THIER OWN SETTLERS to get this going..and what normally starts the conflict?? a suicide bombing..a kidnapping..rockets..
what needs to happen here is for the rest of the middle east to STOP FU(KING WITH palestine so they would have enough time for dialogue
******
You are so utterly deluded by your own lies and propaganda that you are growing boring.
Okay, genius, please site one, just one, example of the U.N. protesting Middle East peace. Seriously, your delusional.
Second, Israel has had an official policy for populating the West Bank, so you can drop that line of lies now too.
And finally, so long as the Zionists are killing, stealing, manipulating and lying their way into power in Palestine, they will have no intellectual peace!!!
what i am proposing the preservation of both jews and palestine..
what you are proposing it the preservation of ONE..
*****
You are a pathetic liar. What you ahve been attempting to argue is the continuation of Zionist oppression, killing and theft; which of course are unsustainable.
So go play your victim routine somewhere else.
And we wonder why there is unrest in Palestine??
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by GreatDriveW at 01:25 PM : Dec 14, 2008
They are in violation because the majority of those resolutions were created by Arab states that used their oil weilding powers to blackmail many countrys in the world.
The resolutions are no different than Tony Soprano having you sign a contract with a gun to your head.
Do you really beleive the Arab world gives a hoot about the Palestinians ?
They are just tools for the oil barons to make sure you don''t look behind the curtain
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by downsteamjim at 02:42 PM : Dec 14, 2008
Considering that Jordan is 90% Palestinian and was part of the original Mandate its interesting how the press rarely presents that in their storys ?
I wonder why ?
Patriot9, still at it huh?
you have spewed what you are against with hate, now how about what you are for?
How about do something for somebody? Religious groups do. (Extremist groups do it ''to'' somebody). Show me your plan for the (salvation of man). you don''t have one... All you know about religion is that some well meaning but misguided "Bible thumpers" tell you what you shouldn''t do but you are too satisfied with the status quo to learn anything else.
They are in violation because the majority of those resolutions were created by Arab states that used their oil weilding powers to blackmail many countrys in the world.
The resolutions are no different than Tony Soprano having you sign a contract with a gun to your head.
Do you really beleive the Arab world gives a hoot about the Palestinians ?
They are just tools for the oil barons to make sure you don''''t look behind the curtain
Posted by earth562
Not true. I guess, like all the right-wing nutjobs, if reality doesn''t match your ideology, you just make up a new "reality". The general assembly resolutions that support Palestinians typically are only opposed by the US, Israel and a couple of islands in the Pacific. That''s it. All the other members either abstain or, most often, vote in favor of it. Unless you believe in some whack job idea that the Arab countries are able to force just about every country on earth to vote their way, your assertion is clearly untrue. The voting records at the UN are public records. Go look ''em up.
Posted by downsteamjim at 02:42 PM : Dec 14, 2008
Why not give them Texas?
The 1948 UN resolution that allowed for Israel to exist at all, required the creation of a Palestinian state, at the same time. To deny the Palestinians their home is to remove the legitimacy of the state of Israel.
correct me if I am wrong
Posted by LordSunTzu
Where? I think the world would like to know. And, sorry to correct you, but demanding justice for the millions of innocent Palestinians does not equate to demanding death for Israelis. Most people would like to see peace coming to that region, including to Israel. Palestinians deserve their own state - and that''s the policy of both the UN and the US government. So, if you oppose that policy it means you oppose our democratically elected government.
Posted by LordSunTzu
How come I get the feeling that you''re just a bigot who doesn''t like tan skinned people.
Posted by larryhammick
Read the newspapers (the ones that aren''t hopelessly biased in favor of Israel) and you''ll see that Israel routinely takes provocative actions any time there is progress made in peace efforts.
It is the Israelis who don''t want peace. Peace means halting the land grab and giving up their cheap coolie Palestinian labor. Israelis have it all, why would they want peace??
Posted by cdfoxtrot6 at 10:24 PM : Dec 14, 2008
Far and few in favor of Israel ???
What bizzaro world are you living in ?
Just about every European news organization and many in the United States jump at every chance to put Israel in an unfavorable light.
Thats the BBC/New York Times/ every British paper I can mention and German for that matter and so on.
Do you also beleive the Earth is flat ?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by cdfoxtrot6 at 10:20 PM : Dec 14, 2008
So how come Arafat basically ended further negotiations with Bill Clinton in the 90s ?
How come the "Palestinians" were not demanding a state when Jordan "occupied" the West bank or Egypt ..the Gaza Strip between 1948-1967 ?
How come after the end of the Six Day War did and the defrat of the Arab Armys, Israel formally offered peace and all lands captured for a true peace.
The Arabs and Palestinians replied with the famous " 3 NOs of Khartoum
the leaders of thirteen Arab states gathered at a summit conference in Khartoum, Sudan from August 29 to September 1. There they pledged to continue their struggle against Israel.
Influenced by Nasser, "their conditions were quite specific:
NO peace with Israel
NO negotiations with Israel
NO recognition of Israel, and ''maintenance of the rights of the Palestinian people in their nation.''
The Khartoum Declaration was the first serious warning to the Israelis that their expectation of an imminent ''phone call'' from the Arab world might be a pipe dream"
Posted by cdfoxtrot6 at 09:49 PM : Dec 14, 2008
+ report abuse
Go and actually read your history please.
The Palestinians have 83 % of the Palestinian Mandate and that includes Jordan, The West Bank and Gaza.
Israel signed an agreement to carve out the British Mandate and have two states in 1948.
The Arabs did NOT agree and decided to "push the Jews to the sea"
Did you get that ?
The Arabs fought wars in 48/56/67/73 to eliminate the State of Israel off the map.
They LOST..got it ? ...Lost
Do me a favor and demand from the UN that 3 million Germans who LOST the 2nd World War get their properties back from the Poles also.
and please ask the UN that the French get back Indochina
and ask the UN to give back Taiwan to Mainland China
and ask the UN to please reverse things and give back the land that was "stolen" from over 56 countrys in the 20th century.
------------------------------
Yes - virtually all people of different ethnicities fought for nationhood.
Haven''t the Jews from all of the Arab countries been displaced and made into refugees after many centuries of being a robbed, beaten, humiliated, murdered and otherwise abused minority by Arabs, long before the State of Israel was reborn?
The facts are, that a substantial number of the 22 or so Arab countries, refuse to ''permit'' even one small country or homeland for the Jews, even though Israel consists of only about one quarter percent in land area. That means the Arab countries have about 99.75% or 400 times the land area when compared to Israel.
In addition, the Arab States refused to accept the two-state solution in 1948, thereby forcing the Jews to fight for only about 20% of the original land of Palestine.
Please correct these figures if they are incorrect.
Ever since, as well as for centuries prior, the Arabs have wrongfully used emotionally-charged religion as a political power tool to teach more and more hate and incitement against the Jews.
The League of Nations was subsequently dissolved and the United Nations was created in its place at the end of World War II.
Under Article 80 of the United Nations Charter, all League of Nations resolutions rolled over to the United Nations.
So, the United Nations resolution in 1947 that partitioned the Palestine mandate between Jews and Arabs in violation of the UN`s own Charter is null and void.
Israel is legally entitled to the West Bank and Gaza strip if it wants them.
In any case, the resolution that`s the subject of the CBS report above is a complete waste of time because, yesterday, Hamas announced that its so-called "cease-fire" has come to an end.
Posted by cdfoxtrot6 at 10:21 PM : Dec 14, 2008
How come I get the feeling that you''''re just a bigot that doesn''''t like people with last names like schwartz and horowitz....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by trishab59 at 03:03 AM : Dec 16, 2008
Yes Trisha !
Like you have a moral highground with the swastikas in your kitchen
Posted by trishab59 at 03:03 AM : Dec 16, 2008
and I trust Al-Jazeera for my news like the police trusted Al-Capone
-
by impeach_o
December 16, 2008 6:35 PM EST
- -Israel needs to ease the Strangulation of the Palestinians in Gaza. AIPAC''''s Israel practices the same APARTHEID system South Africa used to practice over it Black population, yet worse.
-
Reply to this comment
-
See all 42 Comments-Shame on you!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by trishab59 at 03:03 AM : Dec 16, 2008
+ report abuse
***********
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO is demand tht the rest of middle east STOP strangulating these poor palestinians to further thier own hatred and fear of the jewish state..
no one wants to get rockets fired at them..nor would anybody want to strap bombs on themselves..
outside forces are working hard on this one...and the liberal medie and the liberal masses back by the UN is making *** sure this continues