Israel braces for PA blitz at UN

By Herb Keinon
August 30, 2005
The Jerusalem Post
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1125281965302 
Despite Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, the Palestinians will not ease pressure on Israel at international forums and will try and bring discussion of the security fence back to the United Nations General Assembly this fall, according to diplomatic assessments in Jerusalem. 
Israel has been in constant contact with European countries to try and keep this initiative from gaining traction, local officials say. 
Palestinian officials have made no secret of their interest in now moving the focus of their diplomatic activity to international bodies like the UN in an attempt to get Israel to complete the withdrawal from Gaza, including control over the border crossings, and to commit to additional steps. 
Among the steps the Palestinians want Israel to take immediately are fulfillment of the Sharm e-Sheikh agreements, including prisoner releases, an IDF withdrawal to the lines of September 2000 before the terror war, and the transfer of security control of the major West Bank cities to the PA. 
Last year Israel succeeded in scuttling Palestinian attempts to bring to the UN a follow-up resolution to one that passed the General Assembly in July 2004, which called on Israel to abide by the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion to dismantle the security fence. There was concern at the time that the PA would try to get a Security Council resolution calling on Israel to either dismantle the fence or face sanctions. 
In addition to focusing on the fence, the PA is also in discussion with the UN and the Quartet in an attempt to prevent any UN resolution acknowledging the end of Israel's occupation of Gaza. 
Palestinian spokesmen have been saying repeatedly that according to international law, until Israel withdrew completely from Gaza – including from control of the air, sea and land borders – it was still an occupying power and responsible for the area. 
According to assessments in Jerusalem, the question of control over the border crossings was critical for the Palestinians and for many in the international community who viewed Palestinian control over border points as essential for Palestinian economic growth. 
As such there is some concern in Jerusalem that even as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is enjoying widespread support from the US and Europe because of disengagement, some might use the threat of supporting the PA in bringing the fence to the UN as a way to get Israel to be more pliable on issues such as the border crossings. 
Mustafa Barghouti, who was an independent candidate in the Palestinian presidential elections and is secretary-general of the Palestinian National Institute, wrote an article last week that appeared on the Egyptian weekly Al-Ahram Web site saying that the Palestinians needed to take back the diplomatic initiative. 
One of the ways to do this, he wrote, was to appeal to the UN for a resolution based on the ruling of the International Court of Justice on the separation wall and calling upon Israel to halt construction and dismantle those portions encroaching into Palestinian territory, or face the possibility of sanctions.