United Nations, December 18 (RHC)-- Palestinians have submitted a draft UN Security Council resolution in an effort to end Israeli occupation by the end of 2017. The draft was presented to the UN by Jordan, said Palestinian envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour at a press conference on Wednesday.
The draft seeks a final settlement deal with Israel in 12 months and an Israeli withdrawal in late 2017. "We are willing to work with those who want to work with us for meaningful things," Mansour said following a closed-door meeting with Arab representatives.
He added that the Palestinians are open to talks "if they are ready and willing so that we perhaps can succeed in having something adopted by the Security Council to open a serious door to peace."
The Arab-backed draft initially set a deadline of November 2016 for Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories, but France pushed for a softer resolution.
Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the besieged Gaza Strip and are demanding that Israel withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories. Tel Aviv, however, has refused to return to the 1967 borders and is unwilling to discuss the issue of Jerusalem.
