Palestinians push UN bid forward ahead of Israeli elections

The Palestinian Authority will push for a new resolution at the United Nations Security Council without delay, and will not wait until Israel’s early elections are concluded.

Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, was speaking at a celebration organised in honour of International Anti-Corruption Day in Ramallah.

"We [the Palestinians] will continue to depend on aid so long as this occupation still exists," Abbas said.

“There isn’t a single error in the Palestinian bill, which talks about ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state according to an established time-frame.”

In September Palestine, with backing from the Arab League, circulated a draft bill at the UN Security Council calling for an end to the Israeli occupation by November 2016.

However, the bill ran aground due to opposition from the United States and other permanent members of the Security Council.

In November, it was revealed that Abbas had secretly blocked Palestine's application to join the International Criminal Court, a move that would have allowed it to prosecute Israel for alleged war crimes.

On Sunday, Abbas said he would not delay the submission of a new draft, shepherded by France, to the council.

“Is it sensible to wait for the whole world to hold their elections before we proceed to the Security Council? Every time we think about going to the council, we are told to wait for the results of the elections in the US or in Israel… If I have business, it has nothing to do with other matters – I will drive forward with it.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week dismissed the justice and finance ministers from his coalition government – the parliament, the Knesset, then voted to dissolve itself ahead of snap elections to be held in March 2015.

Netanyahu has been strongly opposed to Palestine’s bids for the UN Security Council to pass a resolution setting a timeframe for Israeli withdrawal, and some had suggested that the bill should be submitted after elections decide who will lead Israel.

"If they want to take me down, I will take them along with me," Abbas said, referring to a recent lawsuit filed against him by an Israeli NGO before the International Criminal Court, accusing him of terrorism.

Peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators collapsed in April of this year over Israel's refusal to release a fourth group of Palestinian prisoners despite earlier pledges to do so.