Palestine UN envoy: Ramallah bracing for Israeli retaliation amid UN recognition push
Palestinians aim to press for recognition and international support at the UN next week, with envoy Riyad Mansour telling Al-Monitor that the coming days will be critical.
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Palestine’s UN representative, Riyad Mansour, expects the Palestinian issue to dominate next week’s UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
“Already some things have happened, much more will take place in the coming days, with a climax on Sept. 22,” he told Al-Monitor, referring to the High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine. The conference, resuming a July event co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, aims to advance the two-state solution. Last Friday, the UNGA endorsed a declaration calling for “tangible, time-bound and irreversible” steps toward that goal.
Mansour said that while a few countries are planning to recognize Palestine before Sept. 22, most are expected to do so on this day, hopefully with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressing the conferees. He likened the recognition of Palestine by major countries on that date to a “zafeh” — the public welcome of a bride and groom entering a wedding hall.
