AJC Welcomes Dutch Dismissal of Palestinian UDI Appeal

[Ari Gordon <gordona@ajc.org>]

AJC Welcomes Dutch Dismissal of Palestinian UDI Appeal

July 1, 2011 - New York - AJC welcomed the announcement of the Foreign Minister 
of The Netherlands, Uri Rosenthal, that his country will not  support any 
unilateral Palestinian move at the UN this fall that seeks to create facts on 
the ground without engaging in direct, face-to-face negotiations with Israel.

"Foreign Minister Rosenthal has adopted a welcome and decisive stance against 
this unilateral initiative by the Palestinian leadership, which carries 
potentially grave consequences not least for the Palestinians themselves," said 
AJC Executive Director David Harris. "The Netherlands joins Germany, Italy and 
several other EU countries that have taken a similarly laudable position, by 
clearly telling President Abbas and the Palestinian leadership that there is 
only one venue for peacemaking: at the negotiating table with Israel."

Following a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Rosenthal told a 
press conference that The Netherlands would not support the UDI campaign. 
Rosenthal called for the resumption of "direct negotiations, right now" between 
Israel and the Palestinians.

Earlier this week, Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski, whose country will 
hold the rotating EU presidency for the next six months, said the 27-nation 
bloc is working on a common position toward the Palestinian UDI campaign. Over 
the last several months, divisions on the issue have emerged within the EU.

>Posted by:
>Ari M. Gordon
>Special Advisor, Interreligious
>and Intergroup Relations
>American Jewish Committee
>165 E56th Street
>New York, NY 10022
>(212)891-6717
>www.ajc.org