U.S. envoy: We will stop aid to Palestinians if UN bid proceeds

[Scurrilous]

U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem, Daniel Rubinstein, tells chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat U.S. 'will take punitive measures' against Palestinian Authority if it seeks to upgrade position at UN General Assembly.

<snip>

"The United States will stop all financial aid to the Palestinian Authority if they proceed with plans to ask the United Nations for recognition of an independent state in September, a U.S. official warned Friday.

U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem, Daniel Rubinstein, told chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, that the U.S. would veto a UN Security Council resolution calling for recognition of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip within the June 4, 1967 borders and for UN membership.

"If the Palestinian Authority insists on going to the Security Council, the U.S. will use the veto," he told Erekat during a meeting in the West Bank city of Jericho, according to a statement issued by Erekat's office.

"And in case the Palestinian Authority seeks to upgrade its position at the UN through the General Assembly, the U.S. Congress will take punitive measures against it, including a cut in U.S. aid," he said."

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-envoy-we-will-stop-aid-to-palestinians-if-un-bid-proceeds-1.380901

[oberliner]

1. Story is BS

American officials are dismissing a top Palestinian leader’s claims on Friday that the U.S. warned it will take “punitive measures” and cutoff aid if the Palestinians move forward on their statehood bid.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/62138.html#ixzz1W9zJYfCq

[Violet_Crumble]

3. The bit about vetoing full membership in the UN isn't...

As for the bit about cutting aid, it wouldn't surprise me if the US Consul General had threatened that in a private conversation and then denied it once it became public...

[daa]

2. Obama and bibi all alone nt