Arab League Hopes U.S. Will not Veto U.N. Palestinian Resolution

The Arab League said Thursday it hoped the United States would not veto a draft U.N. Security Council resolution laying out the terms of a final peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

Jordan presented the draft Wednesday on behalf of the Palestinians, who have sought to avoid a clash with Washington by saying they are open to negotiations on the text.

It would set a 12-month deadline for wrapping up negotiations on a final settlement and the end of 2017 as the time frame for completing an Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territories.

"We hope that the United States will not use its veto," said the Arab League's deputy secretary general for Palestinian affairs, Mohammed Sobeih.

"The use of the American veto will harm the Palestinian cause and will be used by extremists as an instrument to pursue settlement (of Jews in the occupied territories) and ruin the peace process," he told journalists.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said "we will not accept attempts to dictate to us unilateral moves on a limited timetable."

And the United States, holding veto power as one of the council's five permanent members, has repeatedly vetoed resolutions seen as undermining its close ally Israel.

The U.S. administration opposes moves to bind negotiators' hands through a U.N. resolution -- particularly any attempt to set a deadline for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank.

But U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said the resolution would not present a problem if it can avoid exacerbating tensions in the region.

The Palestinians had said they wanted a quick vote but backed away, apparently under pressure from Arab countries including Jordan, which is seeking a draft that will be acceptable to the United States.

A U.S. veto risks angering key Arab allies, including partners in the U.S.-led coalition carrying out air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

The latest round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, shepherded by Kerry, collapsed in April amid mutual recriminations.

This summer's war in Gaza followed, and tensions have boiled over in the West Bank and east Jerusalem with a series of deadly attacks on Israelis and frequent clashes between security forces and stone-throwing Palestinians.