The Palestinian Authority (PA) draft resolution was submitted by Jordan to the UN Security Council on Monday, 29 December.

Israel strongly opposes unilateral measures in the Security Council. This resolution is completely one-sided and lacks the components that would advance a future agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. It will harm chances for peace and undermine hopes for a better future for both Palestinians and Israelis.

An agreement between Israel and the Palestinians will only be achieved through bilateral negotiations and not through one side dictating terms. Israel remains committed to the negotiating process and will reject any attempt to unilaterally impose conditions on it.

The PA resolution can only harm chances for peace as it:

• Reduces any incentive for the Palestinians to negotiate and compromise while encouraging Palestinian rejectionism. The resolution is part of the PA's strategy to bypass direct negotiations by forcing its positions on Israel through third-party pressure.
• Allows the Palestinians to ignore Israel's legitimate interests, especially in regards to the necessary security arrangements and recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people.
• Promotes further Palestinian unilateral actions that violate the agreements signed - with the backing of the international community - between Israel and the PA, as well as all internationally accepted frameworks for peace, including UNSC Resolutions 242, 338 and 1850.
• Rewards the PA - at a time of heightened terrorism and official incitement - for choosing Hamas as its partner in government at a time when radical Islamist terrorism is raging throughout the region.
  

The PA's insistence on presenting the resolution despite the lack of support (and in the middle of Israel's election season) shows that the Palestinians are not engaging in a measure to advance the negotiating process but in a provocation to heighten tensions. The Palestinian Authority (PA) is attempting to dictate terms that will undermine the security of Israel. Israel expects that the international community will unequivocally reject this effort.