Arab diplomats told Ahram Online that it is now becoming more likely that the Palestinian Authority will seek audience at the General Assembly and not the Security Council, after the US made public statements against the upcoming Palestinian bid for statehood at the Security Council.
After an Arab ministerial session, sources told Ahram Online (on the condition of anonymity) that Saeb Erikat, the top Palestinian Authority negotiator notably stopped referring to taking the bid in the Security Council.
The top negotiator, Erikat, said the source, used to be vocal about specifying that Palestinian statehood efforts should be concentrated in the Security Council.
The 66th session of the General Assembly opens at the UN headquarters today. Arab delegations are expected to start flying to the UN for consultations in a week.
In a joint Arab-European meeting held at the Arab League on Sunday many European representatives said that they are willing to give a nod of approval for a Palestinian state in the UN General Assembly - where resolutions are non-binding - rather than in the Security Council - where resolutions, if adopted, are binding.
However, according to one Cairo-based European source, the vote in the General Assembly will be the individual prerogative of each state. And, he added, if the language of the Palestinian demand is perceived as ignoring the Israeli demand for a negotiated settlement, it will likely receive few European votes.
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