CARA ANNA
Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. official warned in an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Wednesday that Israel’s plans for further settlements in east Jerusalem threaten the viability of the future Palestinian state. Close ally the United States also warned against Israel’s plans.
The council met at the request of member Jordan on behalf of the Palestinians, who are insisting upon a halt to such settlement efforts.
Tensions have been revived between Arabs and Jews over Israel’s plans to build about 1,000 housing units in east Jerusalem, the part of the city the Palestinians demand for their future state.
U.N. political chief Jeffrey Feltman said the settlements, if pursued, would raise “grave doubts” about Israel’s plans for a durable peace solution with the Palestinians, especially as wounds from the latest conflict in Gaza continue to heal. He warned that the latest developments move the situation “ever closer to a one-state reality.”
Israel’s ambassador, Ron Prosor, said his country is doing everything possible to minimize tensions. The Palestinian ambassador, Riyad Mansour, said Israel isn’t listening and called the situation “explosive.”
Feltman suggested that the Security Council take action on the issue, and pushed both sides to remedy tensions through negotiations. The latest push for talks, led by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, failed.
The meeting gave council members a chance to vent about the complicated tensions and point out that such settlements are a breach of international law, but little action had been expected to come from the meeting. The U.S. is a permanent council member with the power to veto any resolutions that target Israel.
The U.S. called Israel’s latest settlements plans “deeply concerning,” saying any settlement activity “will already escalate tensions at a time they are already tense enough.” The U.S. alternate representative for special political affairs, David Pressman, urged both sides to refrain from “provocative actions.”
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the new settlement plans, saying there was a wide consensus in Israel to continue building throughout the east Jerusalem, just as every Israeli government has done since Israel captured the city in 1967.
East Jerusalem is home to the city’s most sensitive Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites. Israel says the whole city will forever be its capital, citing historical, religious and security reasons.
“Jerusalem had a Jewish character long before most cities in the world had any character,” Prosor told the council.
The international community, including the United States, does not recognize Israel’s annexation of the eastern sector of Jerusalem.
Palestinian protesters have been clashing regularly with Israeli security forces in east Jerusalem for months, and the U.N. says the 50-day war over the summer killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians. Violence has risen in recent days at a key Jerusalem holy site, the Dome of the Rock, which is revered by both Jews and Muslims.
Israel’s image is under pressure as some countries lose patience with its actions. British lawmakers this month voted in favor of recognizing Palestine as a state, a symbolic move. And Sweden’s new prime minister has said his government will recognize a Palestinian state.
The Palestinians, trying to build on such sentiments, have been trying to line up support in the Security Council for a resolution that would set November 2016 as the deadline for Israeli troops to withdraw from all Palestinian territories.
Feltman mentioned the resolution in his speech, and France and Argentina urged the council to take some kind of action instead of standing by.
“Mr. Feltman and the secretary-general are feeling the situation is so critical that the Security Council has to do something,” Mansour told reporters, saying Israel has no reason to change its course unless it sees there could be consequences.
But diplomats warn that finding agreement on what they call a balanced resolution is difficult.
Asked by reporters about Feltman’s call for Security Council action, Prosor told reporters: “Any attempt to force things from the outside will never succeed.”
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