Report: Obama considering peace push, including UN Security Council resolution
The White House is working on a plan to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process which has been frozen for almost two years, the Wall Street Journal reported prior to US Vice President Joe Biden’s anticipated arrival at Ben-Gurion Airport on Tuesday afternoon for a two-day visit.
Last week, White House officials told reporters not to expect a break-through in the peace process during Biden’s visit. Similarly in November, the White House said that US President Barack Obama did not expect to arrive at a two-state solution before leaving office in January 2017.
In the absence of any US led initiative, France has since made a push for a multi-lateral regional summit and has spoken of a resolution before the United Nations Security Council to set the contours of a new peace process.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the White House is considering changing its long standing opposition to using the UNSC as a vehicle to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, preferring instead for the two parties to resolve their issues through direct talks.
Israel has similarly insisted that negotiations are the only way to arrive at a two-state solution. It has argued that the Palestinians will never sit down and negotiate as long as they believe they can achieve their goals through the United Nations.