Palestinians pushing U.N. bid

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Palestinian leaders on Thursday rebuffed the latest U.S. attempt to dissuade them from seeking U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state, all but guaranteeing a veto by the Obama administration that would please domestic supporters of Israel but further inflame anti-U.S. anger across the changing Middle East.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki left the door ajar to “any credible offer” that could avert a showdown at next week’s U.N. General Assembly opening session. But, he told reporters, the United States hadn’t presented a plan that would allow the Palestinians “to climb down from the tree.”

Barring such a plan, he said, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would formally submit the Palestinian Authority’s application for full U.N. membership Sept. 23.

President Barack Obama, facing an uphill battle for re-election next year and fierce bipartisan opposition to the Palestinian bid in Congress, sent two senior aides on a second long-shot mission in 10 days to persuade the Palestinians not to seek U.N. recognition by reviving direct peace talks with Israel. Even though the Palestinians almost certainly have the nine requisite votes for a U.N. resolution, the administration has warned repeatedly that it would use the veto the U.S. wields as a permanent Security Council member, arguing that the resolution would jeopardize the chances of restarting the talks, which have been stalled for nearly a year.

Al-Maliki, however, said Thursday that U.S. envoy David Hale and senior Obama adviser Dennis Ross had “not presented anything new,” and that the Palestinian leadership would seek non-voting observer status at the U.N., which would grant implicit recognition to a Palestinian state for the first time. It would be able to join certain international institutions, including the International Criminal Court, which some Israelis fear they would use to bring war-crimes charges.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has denounced what he calls a unilateral move by the Palestinians to short-circuit the peace process, announced Thursday that he would lead Israel’s opposition by addressing the General Assembly on the same day as Abbas.

“The General Assembly is not a place where Israel usually receives a fair hearing,” Netanyahu told a news conference in Jerusalem. “But I still decided to tell the truth before anyone who would like to hear it. I have decided to convey the twin messages of direct negotiations for peace and the quest for peace.”

U.S. and Israeli officials argue that a Palestinian state can only be established in a peace accord reached in direct negotiations with Israel.

“The Palestinians will not and cannot achieve statehood through a declaration at the United Nations,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said. “It is a distraction, and in fact, it’s counterproductive. That remains our position.”

Israel has threatened unspecified retaliation if the Palestinians proceed, which could include a withholding of tax revenues collected and an acceleration in settlement construction on lands claimed by the Palestinians.

The Palestinians and their supporters blame Netanyahu’s conservative government for forcing them to seek U.N. recognition. They contend that they cannot resume direct talks while Israel refuses to halt Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which they claim along with the Gaza Strip for their independent state.