President Obama on Wednesday made a final plea for Palestinians to abandon their push to achieve statehood through the United Nations, declaring there is “no shortcut” to Middle East peace.
“Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the U.N. — if it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now,” Obama said in a 40-minute address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York. “Ultimately, it is Israelis and Palestinians — not us — who must reach agreement on the issues that divide them: on borders and security; on refugees and Jerusalem.”
Obama reaffirmed U.S. support for the creation of a Palestinian state, echoing a speech he delivered one year earlier at the same U.N. forum. But sovereignty for Palestine must be achieved through direct negotiations with Israel, not through the backdoor approach that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is attempting at the U.N., he declared.
Eager to prove his commitment to Israeli security, Obama threatened to veto Palestinians’ petition for statehood if Abbas brings the issue before the U.N. Security Council.
“The Jewish people have forged a successful state in their historic homeland,” Obama declared, after calling his commitment to Israel’s security “unshakable.” “Israel deserves recognition. It deserves normal relations with its neighbors. And friends of the Palestinians do them no favors by ignoring this truth.”
French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned the U.N., however, that an American veto would spark new violence in the Middle East.
“Who could doubt that a veto at the Security Council risks engendering a cycle of violence in the Middle East?” Sarkozy said following Obama’s remarks.
To get around America’s threatened veto, Abbas could bring his statehood request before the 193-member General Assembly, where U.N. officials say he could easily find the two-thirds majority he needs to win symbolic recognition of a Palestinian state and an elevated status within the international coalition.
Hoping to avoid the messy business altogether, Obama scheduled a last-minute meeting with Abbas on Wednesday evening to pressure him into abandoning his push for statehood through the U.N. and instead resume peace talks with Israeli leaders.
“I am convinced that there is no shortcut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades,” Obama said.
Immediately following his remarks, Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where a warm welcome likely helped bolster Obama’s standing among Jewish-American voters who doubt his commitment to Israel.
“I want to thank you, Mr. President, for standing with Israel and supporting peace,” Netanyahu told Obama before the two leaders met privately. “I think that standing your ground, taking this position of principle — which is also I think the right position to achieve peace — I think this is a badge of honor.”
Netanyahu said he hopes other leaders will follow Obama’s lead.
With tensions running high, Netanyahu and Abbas refused to meet during the weeklong General Assembly conference, leaving Obama to bridge the gap.
