Haaretz:
Switzerland, Denmark, Austria, and Spain will join France in backing Palestinian upgrade at UN; Britain seeking assurances from Palestinians; Germany will oppose move.
More European states joined France on Wednesday in backing a Palestinian bid for limited statehood but Britain held back, saying it wanted an assurance that the Palestinians would not pursue Israel through the International Criminal Court.
Germany said it would not support the diplomatic upgrade for the Palestinians at the United Nations, joining Israel and the United States which say the only genuine route to statehood is through a peace accord from direct talks with the Jewish state.
Meanwhile, the United States is still trying to halt the Palestinian move at the UN. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns and Mideast envoy David Hale met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his hotel in New York. They expressed U.S. opposition to the move and requested that he reconsider.
Granting Palestinians the title of “observer state” short of full UN representation could allow them access to the court and some other international bodies.
Categories: Arab World, Asia, Israel, Middle East, Palestine