PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said Thursday that no date was set for next steps at the United Nations, where officials are considering a new initiative to seek membership as a state.
Erekat said the timing of a draft application for the General Assembly will be discussed at the next cabinet meeting on Tuesday and after consulting with regional leaders.
His remarks followed separate meetings with ambassadors from France, Germany, India, Brazil and the United States, Erekat said.
The Palestinian negotiator stressed that if the UN initiative were successful this time around, it would not harm the peace process with Israel. Rather, he said, it would help to encourage implementation of international resolutions calling for an end to the occupation.
The Associated Press, meanwhile, reported that it had obtained a document spelling out Palestinian fears of reprisals in the event the UN granted Palestine membership in the world body.
Prepared by the PLO’s negotiations support unit, the document said both Israel and the US had an arsenal of punitive measures at their disposal. It said the US could close the PLO mission in Washington, suspend aid to the Palestinians or withhold contributions to any UN agency the Palestinians try to join, the AP reported.
It said the document listed possible Israeli reactions such as canceling interim peace deals, annexing parts of the West Bank or increasing restrictions on Palestinian trade and movement.
In September the PLO asked the UN Security Council to admit Palestine as a state, but the request failed to secure enough votes.
Also Thursday, Erekat called on the international community to intervene in order to compel the Israeli government to reopen Palestinian offices and institutions in Jerusalem such as the Orient House.
A day earlier he described Israel's renewal of the closure "an act of piracy," in a letter to diplomats. He said "such illegal Israeli measures are considered null and void by the international community."
Israel shut down the house during the second intifada in 2001 in response to Palestinian attacks. A Palestinian official told Ma'an that Israel renewed the order this week.
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