The draft resolution would call for a withdrawal of Israeli troops from occupied Palestinian territory within two years and a return to negotiations with a view to achieving a two-state solution by which Israel and a Palestinian state would co-exist. Jordan will submit the resolution on behalf of the Palestinians since Palestine is an observer to the UN and not a full member state. Only member states can present a resolution to the Security Council.

Palestinians officials meeting US Secretary of State John Kerry at talks in London, said they would go ahead as planned, receiving a sharp warning from Kerry that the US would veto the resolution, another Palestinian official said. A State Department official made no mention of whether Kerry had threatened the Palestinians. The US, Israel’s closest ally, has consistently used its UN veto power to block moves it sees as anti-Israel. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat reportedly told Washington, should it use its veto, the Palestinians would then apply to join a series of international organisations. They include the International Criminal Court, another move opposed by the US, which fears the Palestinians will seek to try Israeli officials for alleged war crimes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned late on Monday after meeting Kerry for almost three hours in Rome that his country would oppose any resolution that would harm his country. “Attempts of the Palestinians and of several European countries to force conditions on Israel will only lead to a deterioration in the regional situation and will endanger Israel,” he said in a statement. “Therefore, we will strongly oppose this.” Several European parliaments have called on their governments to move ahead with the recognition of a Palestinian state.(kh)