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Palestinians to UN: Set Israeli Pullout Deadline

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wants the U.N. Security Council to set a November 2016 deadline for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank -- biblical Judea and Samaria -- including East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Authority submitted a draft resolution to council members. The draft also calls for Israel to end military operations and all settlement activities and to open all border crossings to the Gaza Strip.

The proposal also includes instituting "an international presence" in Palestinian-controlled territories to protect Palestinian civilians.

Abbas warned in an earlier speech to the U.N. General Assembly that he would set a deadline for Israeli withdrawal. He also accused Israel of "genocide" and war crimes in the speech, which drew a sharp response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Both the U.S. and Israel had cautioned the Palestinians not to submit the resolution. It faces an almost certain U.S. veto in the Security Council.

Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, in charge of negotations with the Palestinian Authority and the most left-leaning member of the cabinet, criticized Abbas before his U.N. speech, warning that in the wake of Israel's discovery of a plotted Hamas coup against Abbas, he should want an Israeli presence in the West Bank to protect him.

Livni also cautioned Abbas against walking away from negotiations.

"In negotiations you have to pay a price and concede things, whereas when you go to the U.N. you can get everything you want, but it will not give you a state," Livni said.

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About The Author

John
Waage

John Waage has covered politics and analyzed elections for CBN New since 1980, including primaries, conventions, and general elections. He also analyzes the convulsive politics of the Middle East.