Abbas to seek recognition by 15 UN bodies

Palestinian statehood bid may derail Middle East peace process

Move by Mahmoud Abbas to seek recognition by 15 UN bodies may be response to Israeli failure to release prisoners

Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem

US-sponsored efforts to advance Middle East peace process appeared to be fragmenting last night, as the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, announced he would be seeking immediate recognition of 15 UN bodies and conventions as a further step towards statehood.

The new UN bid, backed unanimously by a crisis meeting of senior Palestinian officials, is significant because Abbas had been persuaded by the US to put the UN membership requests on hold last year in favour of nine months of peace talks in exchange for which Israel would release 104 long-term Palestinian prisoners. The latest moves came amid escalating demands and brinkmanship on both sides that highlighted the size of the gulf between the Israeli and Palestinian sides and the increasing desperation of the US to bridge the gap.

Israeli officials immediately interpreted Abbas's move as an attempt by the Palestinian side to extract more concessions.

Announcing his decision during a televised signing ceremony of the documents, Abbas said: "We are not doing this against the US – this is our right. We never agreed to waive our right. We want to see a Palestinian state living side by side to Israel."

The Palestinian move came days after Israel had failed to release the final group of prisoners, which had originally been scheduled for the weekend – a move Palestinian officials maintained demonstrated that Israel was reneging on the promises it made at the beginning of this round of talks. Following the announcement, a US official travelling with Kerry said the US secretary of state – who is in Brussels – had cancelled plans to travel back to the Middle East on Wednesday.

In the immediate aftermath, analysts were divided over whether the renewed UN recognition bid was a gambit by Abbas or represented the end of Palestinian patience. Significantly, the Palestinian leadership has held back from applying to join the Rome treaty, which governs the international criminal court. Abbas made clear he was also willing to continue with talks until the deadline of 29 April. Despite cancelling his meeting with Abbas, Kerry insisted it was premature to write off the peace process, adding that there were "still lots of possibilities in play".

The complex deal that had been floated over the previous 24 hours suggested the US might consider releasing the jailed Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, who is in the 29th year of a life sentence in a US jail, in exchange for a larger release of Palestinian prisoners and a partial freeze of some Israeli settlement building activities. As more details emerged, it became clear how fragile the proposed deal was. It failed even to have the support of Pollard himself, who, it was disclosed, had waived his right to a parole hearing.

The strongest opposition, however, came from the Palestinian leadership, which insisted that Israel was reneging on its obligations and refused suggestions to link the promised release of a fourth group of prisoners with a commitment to extend peace talks beyond a deadline set by the US for the end of April.

The proposed deal was heavily briefed by anonymous US and Israeli officials, but it was clear it fell far short of what the Palestinian side was demanding.Abbas's announcement came after a key meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's action committee which met prior to Abbas's statement.

Kerry has spent days shuttling back and forth to the Middle East in an effort to find a solution in the Middle East. He met the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu twice on Monday evening and Tuesdayyesterday, after meeting Abbas in Jordan last week.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/01/us-may-release-israeli-spy-jonathan-pollard-peace-process