"The Palestinian Authority distributed a draft resolution this week condemning construction in the settlements to a number of members of the UN Security Council, according to Western diplomats and senior Palestinian officials. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would like to bring the resolution to a vote during his visit to UN Headquarters in New York in about two weeks.
The Palestinian move to condemn settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem has been moving ahead low profile since the beginning of this year. The Palestinians have held consultations over the past few months with a number of Security Council members, such as France, Spain and Egypt, to gage the extent of support. A senior Palestinian official said Abbas will be arriving in New York on April 22, Passover eve, to be present personally for the planned vote.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the proposal Thursday, saying that it would make peace less, not more likely.
'The Palestinians teach their children everyday that the settlements are Tel Aviv, Haifa and Acre,' said Netanyahu. 'Abu Mazen's actions will push peace talks further away. The only way to advance peace is through direct talks and Abu Mazen is hiding from that.'...
The draft states that the settlements are an obstacle to peace and Israel must cease construction. One of the Western diplomats said that one of the only innovations in the text ... was ... a paragraph condemning settler violence against Palestinians...
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is very concerned over a move in the UN Security Council on the settlements. At a meeting of the Likud faction in the Knesset in late February, Netanyahu said such a resolution could result in international sanctions against Israel. According to the Hebrew weekly Makor Rishon, Netanyahu said at the time that he feared that Obama would not veto a resolution on the settlements.
'The question of whether it reaches the Security Council will be decided in the end by one man. I want you to understand this,' Netanyahu told the MKs."