Liberal Israeli Paper Urges Barack Obama To Back Palestinian UN Resolution

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By Forward Staff April 10, 2016

The liberal Israeli newspaper Haaretz has urged Barack Obama to back a Palestinian resolution at the United Nations — and to ignore Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s calls for a veto.

The resolution, expeceted to be oonsidered later this month, calls for a resumption of direct talks and a one-year deadline for an agreement on a final agreement to end the occupation of Palestinian lands and solve to wider dispute between the two peoples.

“A veto of the latest resolution, which does not include a single clause that contradicts U.S. policy, would constitute a diplomatic and moral renunciation of the peace process,” Haaretz editors wrote in an unsigned editorial published online Sunday.

Haaretz praised embattled Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas for pushing the resolution as a way of jumpstarting peace talks and putting a lid on the wave of violent attacks against Israeli citizens.

The resolution mostly reiterates previous UN stands that declared illegal Israeli settlements on land seized in 1967 and occupied ever since. It also denounces attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians.

Haaretz harshly criticized Netanyahu, who it said “hasn’t made a single move toward peace.”

“[He] has sabotaged the peace process with his support for the settlements (and is) exacerbating the security threats faced by both Israelis and Palestinians,” it said.

Netanyahu says deadlines and ultimatums aimed at Israel will only drag out the conflict longer. Although the premier claims to back a two-state solution, he admitted during his recent reelection campaign that he would not allow a Palestinian state.

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