APN: After UN Vote on Palestine, Time for Credible Peace Talks

Distributed by the www.ArabAmericanNewsWire.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 29, 2012

Contact: Lara Friedman
202-408-9898
lfriedman@peacenow.org

After UN Vote on Palestine, Time for Credible Peace Talks

Washington, DC – Welcoming the UN General Assembly’s vote to upgrade the status of the Palestinian representation in the UN, Americans for Peace Now (APN) today urged the Palestinians, Israel, the Obama administration and the international community to use the vote as a springboard to launching credible peace negotiations.

APN’s President and CEO Debra DeLee said: “We welcome the passage of the resolution as a vote of confidence, both by the Palestinians and the international community, in a diplomatic resolution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a vote of confidence in a negotiated two-state solution, with Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side with mutually recognized borders."

“The UNGA resolution, an international statement of support for a negotiated two-state solution, should be used by Palestinians and Israelis as a springboard for launching a serious, credible, internationally-supported political process to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace. We urge the Palestinian leadership to courageously declare its willingness to return to the negotiating table without preconditions. We urge Israel’s government to do the same and refrain from ill-advised retribution against the Palestinians. We urge Congress to resist pressure to pursue its own ill-advised retribution against the Palestinians and the United Nations. We urge the Obama administration to show leadership and sponsor serious peace negotiations.

“Only such a negotiations process can achieve what Israelis and Palestinians both want and deserve: a secure future for themselves and their children, with dignity and self-determination in two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side within recognized borders, in peace and security.”

More on APN’s position regarding the Palestinians’ bid for upgrading their status in the UN is available here.