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Netanyahu warns of possibility of new UN resolution
Israel’s Prime Minister yesterday raised concerns that the upcoming Paris peace conference could provide the foundation for another UN Security Council resolution critical of Israel.
Netanyahu spoke yesterday to a gathering of Israel’s ambassadors to European countries. He described the Paris conference as “futile” and warned his ambassadors “there are signs that they are trying to turn decisions made there into another Security Council resolution, and that is no longer irrelevant”.
Netanyahu told the diplomats that “[the major effort] we are engaged in now is to prevent another UN resolution,” and “we are investing a great deal of diplomatic efforts in this, and this also has to be your main efforts in the coming days”.
He added: “This will not take much time, but it will occupy us in the next two weeks, and we need to succeed.”
Israeli leaders have chosen not to support the French led conference on 15 January due to concerns that multi-lateral forums will further discourage the Palestinian Authority from direct talks with Israel to reach a negotiated agreement to the conflict. Delegates from 70 countries are expected to attend the Paris conference, although Israeli and Palestinian representatives have not been invited.
It is unclear whether the peace conference will produce a formal agreement or merely recommendations. Netanyahu is concerned that declarations or decisions made in Paris could form the basis of a new UN Security Council resolution similar to Resolution 2334, adopted two weeks ago, which expressed “grave concern that continuing Israeli settlement activities are dangerously imperilling the viability of the two-State solution”.
The resolution was able to pass after the US opted to abstain, rather than apply its traditional veto to what it perceives as one-sided resolutions. US Secretary of State John Kerry followed the decision with a speech that criticised Israeli government policies. US Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes has assured his Israeli allies that the Obama administration will not allow any further UN resolutions critical of Israel to pass before the end of its term.