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| Israel under UN pressure to back two-state deal |
| AFP/PTI / United Nations May 12, 2009, 09:31 IST |
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Israel came under pressure today to commit to the creation of an independent Palestinian state as the UN Security Council debated how to breathe new life into the dormant Middle East peace process.
The ministerial session wrapped up with the unanimous adoption of a non-binding statement calling for "urgent efforts ... To achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace."
It said such peace should be "based on the vision of a region where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders."
The debate was chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whose country presides over the 15-member council this month.
But Israel and the Palestinians did not take part.
"Israel does not believe that the involvement of the Security Council contributes to the political process in the Middle East," its ambassador to the United Nations, Gabriela Shalev, said in a statement.
"This process should be bilateral and left to the parties themselves," she said.
"Furthermore, the timing of this Security Council meeting is inappropriate as the Israeli government is in the midst of conducting a policy review, prior to next week's visit by Prime Minister Netanyahu to the United States," she added, explaining her country's decision not to attend the council debate.
In her address, US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice reaffirmed Washington's commitment to the creation of "an independent, viable Palestinian state" and noted that President Barack Obama planned to hold crucial talks with regional leaders.
"The United States is fully and unequivocally committed to working for a two-state solution," she told reporters after her speech. "We share a sense of urgency. This is a moment that should not be lost."
And she gave a stamp of approval to the Russian-drafted statement that stressed the "urgency of reaching comprehensive peace in the Middle East" and said "vigorous diplomatic action is needed."
It also encouraged the work of the Middle East diplomatic Quartet — the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States — "to support the parties in their efforts to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East."
A roadmap drawn up by the Quartet calls for the peaceful co-existence of Israel and an independent Palestine, for a halt to Jewish settlement activity in the Palestinian territories as well as an end to Palestinian attacks against Israel.
The plan has made little progress since it was drafted in 2003.
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