"The U.S. told us that they prefer a negotiated settlement with Israel, but if we (Palestinians) insist on a resolution, the Americans will not necessarily reject it," the PA negotiator said. "The U.S. has a history of never before vetoing any U.N. move to create a new state," the negotiator pointed out.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said yesterday the Palestinians had decided to turn to the U.N. Security Council to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and eastern Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday hit back at the PA plan to unilaterally declare a state, warning such a move will be met by "one-sided Israeli measures." He did not elaborate.
Netanyahu stressed that in order to achieve peace, "negotiations must resume" We understand from the U.S. that the Netanyahu government is not in a position to go against creating a state within two years," the PA official said.
The official claimed the Obama administration was ready to ultimately consider "sanctions" against Israel if the Netanyahu government rejected negotiations leading to a Palestinian state. The official refused to clarify which sanctions he was referring to or whether he was specifically told by the U.S. government it would consider sanctions.