The Prime Minister’s Office on Sunday afternoon (4 Tishrei) released a message, responding to a Quartet call to Israel and the PA (Palestinian Authority) to return to the negotiating table without preconditions. That said, officials indicate they do not expect the PA to agree to the move at this time, as unilateral efforts continue in the UN towards achieving statehood and membership in the international body.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with his closest ministers, the forum of eight, discussing the options at hand as the PA continues it Arab Spring statehood bid.

While the Quartet is calling upon PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) to agree to sit down with Israel without preconditions, the same holds true for Israel, including Jerusalem’s demand that the PA recognize the Jewish state’s right to exist.

The Quartet consists of the United Nations, United States, European Union and Russia. The Quartet and the United States feel that the unilateral move is a grave error on the PA’s part, and it will further destabilize the region. They insist statehood must be the result of bilateral talks and Israeli agreement. Russia and the UN on the other hand are less interested in the bilateral aspect and appear to support the PA’s efforts towards creating facts on the ground.

In the meantime, the White House is looking for a way out of this difficult predicament, committed to vetoing PA acceptance in the Security Council, but realizing such a move would place the White House as odds with Russia, France, China, and some EU member nations.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)