Palestinians seek to expand UN ties
May 3 Chinadaily
The Palestine Liberation Organization's central council adopted a
plan on Sunday to pursue attempts to join 60 United Nations bodies and
international agreements.
The council, under the auspices of its chairman, President Mahmoud
Abbas, "affirms the need for the Palestinian leadership to continue
membership of UN agencies and international conventions", the Palestine
People's Party secretary-general Bassam al-Salhi said in a statement.
The council also said Israel was to blame for failed international
and US efforts to find a negotiated settlement to the Middle East
conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspended faltering peace
talks with the Palestinians last week after the PLO and Hamas agreed to
work together to form a unity government, in a move to end years of
bitter political rivalry.
The struggling peace talks took a nose dive at the end of March when
Israel reneged on a pledge to release two dozen Palestinian prisoners
and the Palestinians responded by signing 15 international treaties in a
step denounced by Israel.
Last November, the Palestinians cast a UN General Assembly vote for
the first time and claimed the moment as a new step in their quest for
full recognition by the global body.
Most of the 193 members of the General Assembly applauded Palestinian
ambassador Riyad Mansour as he voted for a judge on the International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
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