US avoids diplomatic crisis at UN over Israel

On the Israeli side, that would mean a commitment not to expand settlements until at least August, diplomats say.

On the Palestinian side, diplomats said this would mean a commitment until August not to pursue action against Israel at the UN and other international bodies such as the World Court, International Criminal Court and Council. United Nations human rights.

Instead of a resolution, diplomats said the Security Council would adopt a weaker presidential statement along the lines of the resolution, likely on Monday. The presidential statements, which require the support of the 15 nations on the council, are part of the council’s brief but are not legally binding.

The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the highly sensitive negotiations.

A veto on the settlement resolution would have been a political headache for President Joe Biden heading into the 2024 presidential election.

Biden is struggling to balance his opposition to Israeli settlements and his support for a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with moves to improve ties with Palestinians who enjoy broad support among his progressive supporters.

A veto would alienate UN member countries that support the Palestinians, such as the United Arab Emirates, which sponsored the resolution in the Security Council, as the West seeks to support Ukraine in the war with Russia.

The United States will turn to the United Arab Emirates and other countries sympathetic to the Palestinians to vote on Thursday in favor of a 193-member General Assembly resolution condemning Russia for invading Ukraine and calling for a cessation hostilities and the immediate withdrawal of all Russian forces.

The deal was reached on Sunday after days of frantic talks between senior Biden administration officials with Palestinian, Israeli and Emirati leaders. Diplomats said the intensive effort included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Sullivan’s deputy Brett McGurk, the highest diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, and the special envoy for the Palestinians. Hady Amr business.

The Palestinian push for a resolution came as Israel’s new right-wing government reaffirmed its commitment to building new settlements in the West Bank and extending its rule over land Palestinians seek for a future state.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Middle East War. The United Nations and most of the international community view Israeli settlements as illegal and an obstacle to the end of the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem annexed by Israel.