New Zealand drafting UN resolution to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace process

New Zealand is drafting a UN Security Council resolution to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process but will support a planned French resolution instead if believed it has a chance of succeeding.

By: Lauren Calin, World Israel News

New Zealand is currently drafting a UN Security Council resolution to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The details of the resolution have not been released, but it is intended as a backup to a French resolution that would predetermine the parameters of a final peace agreement.

The UN has a history of disproportionately targeting Israel for condemnation.

Jim McLay, New Zealand’s ambassador to the UN, told the Security Council on Tuesday that it should “use its moral and legal authority” to push forward “productive negotiations.”

“New Zealand wants the Security Council to focus on a practical outcome – and we have been working on a text that might serve the purpose of getting negotiations started,” he stated.

France announced at the end of March that it was working on a draft Security Council resolution that would establish parameters for a final peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. “We have not seen the latest French text, but if it has a chance of succeeding, New Zealand stands ready to engage and to be helpful,” McLay said.

New Zealand is serving its two-year term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. The country believes it could be helpful in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on its good relations with both sides.

The idea of UN involvement in the peace process has been increasingly floated since peace talks collapsed a year ago. In December, the Security Council voted against a resolution that would have set a 2017 deadline for the establishment of a Palestinian state.