At the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu indicated he remains hopeful that the PA (Palestinian Authority) will return to the negotiating “when the smoke clears”.

Seeking to play down the impending PA move to bring its quest for statehood to the UN General Assembly and Security Council, he indicated that at the end of the day, the move will not pass in the latter.

The prime minister pointed out that earning support in the General Assembly is essentially a benign accomplishment, one that does not carry with it political weight. He explained the GA is not a body that is really effective, and it may even vote that the “sun rises in the west and sets in the east” but this changes nothing as is the case of the GA supporting a unilateral PA gesture for statehood.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)