BICOM

Yesterday, Ambassador Peter Wittig, Germany’s permanent representative to the UN, said that a forthcoming debate this month in the Security Council would be an opportunity to discuss various options on the Palestinian issue. Germany currently holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council. The Arab League has stated previously that in September it would request from the UN membership status for the Palestinians based on the territories of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem as the capital.

A debate on the Middle East is scheduled to take place on 26 July, according to a provisional calendar for the Security Council for the month of July. “I think (that) will be an occasion to explore the various options that might exist on the Palestinian side,” Wittig said in response to a question about when the issue would be debated. Germany currently holds the Security Council presidency. Wittig also pointed to an upcoming Quartet meeting on the 11 July as a possible indicator on the situation. The potential Security Council debate and Palestinian developments at the UN will be affected by the outcome of the Quartet meeting in Washington. The EU and US are reportedly seeking an agreed basis for the resumption of negotiations to be announced at that meeting.

 In a separate development, Haaretz reports today that Israel has responded angrily to a UN report about Lebanese deaths on Israel-Lebanese border on 15 May, when Lebanese protesters stormed the border. The report was prepared by UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon and Labour peer, Michael Williams. It accuses Israel of using disproportionate force, a charge that Israel rejects. According to Haaretz, Israel is displeased with Williams for his handling of the incident, after Williams blamed Israel immediately after the event without condemning the attempt to breach the border on the Lebanese side.