(JTA) — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will speak at the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday amid rumors that the Palestinians have withdrawn a request for a council vote condemning the Trump peace plan.
The French news service AFP, citing unnamed diplomats, reported Monday afternoon that representatives of the Palestinian Authority withdrew their request to hold a vote on the resolution sponsored by Indonesia and Tunisia due to lack of international support.
According to the diplomats, the resolution may not be able to get the minimum nine votes of the 15 Security Council members. A permanent member, such as the United States, can veto the resolution.
Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said in a statement Monday that the draft resolution remains in circulation and is still under discussion.
“When the consultations are over, we will make a final decision without minimizing or changing our principles, and then it will be presented for a vote,” he said.
The vote is scheduled for Tuesday.
AFP also reported that the language in the resolution has been softened, and that it no longer mentions the United States by name, which may be an attempt to forestall a U.S. veto.
On Thursday, Tunisia’s U.N. ambassador, Moncef Baati, who led diplomatic negotiations on the Palestinian draft resolution, was recalled after the country’s Foreign Ministry said that he had not adequately coordinated his U.N. stance with the government. His firing is viewed as part of an effort to head off a major rift in relations with the United States, Foreign Policy reported.
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