Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The Palestinian Authority is focusing its efforts on a
diplomatic offensive meant to delegitimize Israel, a report said.

The Hudson Institute said the PA has embarked on what a report termed a
“third intifada” or uprising, meant to expel Israel from the United Nations.
The PA also intends to sue Israel in international court for alleged
violations related to archaeological projects in Jerusalem.

“Palestinian Authority representatives say they are also planning to seek a series of punitive measures against Israel in the international arena,” the report, titled “The Third Intifada Is Here,” said. “One of the ideas being floated around in Ramallah is to seek the prosecution of hundreds of Israelis for alleged war crimes against Palestinians over the past few decades.”

The report was released as PA officials warned of a violent backlash to any UN refusal to grant state membership to the Palestinians. On Nov. 11, a UN report said there was no consensus among the 15 members of the Security Council on Palestinian statehood.

“We do deserve to become a full member,” Palestinian observer to the UN Riyad Mansour said. “So, we will intensify our efforts with our friends in order to achieve that objective, and we hope that we can do it soon because the Security Council will remain engaged with our application until we prevail and until we succeed.”

Authored by Israeli analyst Khaled Abu Toameh, the report asserted that
the PA leadership would direct the international community to force Israel
to withdraw unilaterally from the West Bank. Abu Toameh said Abbas, who
dismissed the idea of a two-state solution, has concluded that the UN would
be able to endorse such a state without any need to reach agreement with
Israel.

“The Palestinian Authority has reached the conclusion that there is no
point in continuing the negotiations with Israel because no Israeli
government could give the Palestinians everything they want,” the report
said. “Palestinian Authority officials are hoping that international
pressure will force Israel to its knees. They point out that similar
measures forced apartheid South Africa to eventually succumb to the will of
the international community.”

PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki has acknowledged that Ramallah would not
succeed in achieving UN Security Council recognition for a Palestinian
state. Several permanent members of the Security Council, particularly the
United States, were expected to veto any such proposal.

Instead, PA officials said they would seek membership in UN
organization, including the International Criminal Court and the World
Health Organization. At that point, the PA would lobby to isolate Israel and
expel it from international organizations.

“The ultimate goal is to seek Israel’s expulsion from most UN bodies on
the grounds that it is refusing to comply with UN resolutions concerning the
Israeli-Arab conflict,” the report said.

Another PA goal, the report said, was to use its membership in the UN
Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization to sue Israel. Israel was
expected to be charged with stealing from or destroying archeological sites
in Jerusalem.

“Talking to Palestinian officials in Ramallah, one is left with the
impression that the Palestinian Authority is out to punish Israel more than
achieve a state for its people,” the report said. “The Palestinian
Authority’s new intifada against Israel in the international arena is only
widening the gap and increasing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.”

  Hudson Institute, Jerusalem, Palestinian statehood, Report: Palestinians planning diplomatic ‘third intifada’ to marginalize Israel, Riyad al-Malki, Riyad Mansour, West Bank