The Security Council will resume tomorrow its debate on the situation on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, but diplomats here said they do not expect the Council to vote tomorrow on an Irish draft resolution which was circulated over the weekend.
As Council members met for private consultations today, sources said the United States did not indicate what position it will take regarding the Irish draft resolution. The draft is a watered-down version of a draft circulated last week when the debate began, by the Arab Group at the UN.
The Irish draft does not call for condemning Israel because of the violent clashes between Palestinian Arabs and Israeli troops. However, it calls on Israel to rescind its decision to disband the town council of El Bireh and to reinstate the ousted mayors of El Bireh, Ramollah and Nablus; to abide by the 1949 Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in occupied lands; and demands that Israel end its occupation of the territories.
The main difference between the Irish and the earlier Arab draft resolutions is that the Irish draft does not call for sanctions against Israel in the event that it fails to comply with the resolution. The Arabs agreed to the change, the sources said, in the hope that the U.S. will support the resolution.
The sources said the vote will probably be taken Wednesday when U.S. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick finishes her tour of duty as Security Council President. Although it is not a UN rule, it is customary to conclude a debate in the Council with the same President under which the debate began.
Some diplomats here said that the conclusion of the debate in the Council is linked to the upcoming meeting later this week of the Arab Foreign Ministers in Tunisia.
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