Shapiro noncommittal on US veto of UN draft forcing Israeli withdrawal to ’67 lines

The United States ambassador to Israel refused Wednesday to commit to a veto of an anticipated French-backed UN Security Council resolution that would create a new international framework for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is likely to set a timeline for an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines.

 

In an interview with Army Radio, the ambassador, Dan Shapiro, said that his government was still in a “wait-and-see” mode given that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to create a coalition and the as-yet-formed government has not announced its policy with regard to the two-state solution.

 

“We are waiting to hear what the new government’s position will be, what will be its plan,” he told Army Radio. “I think that the Israeli government will take into account its current international predicament. If Israel is committed to two states for two peoples, we will sit down together and hash out the best way toward that goal.”

 

Shapiro’s remarks echoed comments made recently by Under Secretary Wendy R. Sherman.

 

In a speech to the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington on Monday, Sherman warned that if the new government should step back from a commitment to the two-state solution, “something a vast majority of US Jews support,” it will make America’s job of standing up for Israel internationally tougher.

 

Read More: Shapiro noncommittal on US veto of UN draft forcing Israeli withdrawal to ’67 lines – Israel News – Jerusalem Post