UN: US lobbying against Palestine bid

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NEW YORK: Desperate attempts by the US to foil Palestine's bid for full UN membership have ended in dismay as the Palestinian Authority announced they would press on with a formal application to the General Assembly on Friday.

With the impending move, an official familiar with the matter said the US was set on deploying its lobbying power to pressure non-permanent members of the UN Security Council to ensure an unfavorable outcome for the Palestinians.

In a meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, US President Barack Obama said that he was "convinced that there is no short cut" to the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

During the speech in UN General Assembly, Obama said "Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the UN -- if it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now," Obama said in a speech to the General Assembly.

An approval of at least nine out of 15 members of the Council is required before the General Assembly could make a decision on the matter.

A bilateral meeting between Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa and his Palestinian counterpart, Riad al-Maliki, in New York on Tuesday afternoon (Wednesday in Indonesia) revealed that the US' objective was to avoid a veto.

Many consider that a veto would damage the US' role as a peace broker for Israel and Palestine, a responsibility that it has shouldered for more than two decades.

"It is not easy to get nine votes. I have learned that there are efforts by a certain country to intimidate other countries that support Palestine," said Indonesian lawmaker Hayono Isman after attending the bilateral meeting.

Hayono said such a maneuver was common in global politics. However, he said, he expected countries that were pro-democracy and human rights to be more understanding of the sufferings of the Palestinians.

Speaking to reporters after the bilateral meeting, al-Maliki said the Palestinian Authority had attempted to engage relevant parties in negotiations, but had received no tangible proposal worthy of replacing the UN bid. He said many initiatives and ideas had been proposed by different officials coming from the European Union. "Until this moment there has been nothing really concrete, specific, official in writing that we should look at and contemplate," al-Maliki said.

When asked about the most probable scenario on the process at the Security Council, al-Maliki said the attempt to garner votes from nine members would be possible if pro Palestine countries such as Indonesia could mobilize the support of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

"We share the same vision; Indonesia has been very supportive for the right of the Palestinians to self-determination for independence and also supporting the right of the Palestinians to apply for full membership in the United Nations.

"We discussed where exactly we are today and what we can expect from Friday when we submit the application, and what to expect later; how we can coordinate our efforts in order to produce a successful outcome," he said.

On the support of NAM, Marty said a meeting of members was carried out in May, in which they showed support for the right of Palestinians to attain international recognition as an independent state.

"I want to emphasize one point, [The UN bid] is not meant as a negative effort, not meant to undermine, not meant to complicate the peace process. On the contrary, this is consistent with the vision of two states living side by side. What's going to transpire in the next few days here in the UN will be important to be able to see that vision come to realization," Marty said.

Marty said he was convinced that the political situation in the UN with regards to the Palestinian bid would develop. What is important is for NAM members to unite, to give support and respond accordingly.