UN to hold session on settlements
The UN Security Council has agreed to hold a high-level open debate Friday on the ongoing Israeli settlement building in disputed territory. Agreement came Thursday in closed-door consultations of the council, said Libyan UN delegate Mahmoud Gebreel. Saudi Arabia requested the meeting at the ministerial level on behalf of the Arab League. Prime ministers, foreign ministers and other world leaders and senior diplomats are currently in New York attending the annual UN General Assembly. Public speeches are expected from Saudi Arabia and the Arab League, and probably Israel speaking in response, Gebreel and several other diplomats said as they left the private consultation. No council resolution on the matter is expected. UN Mideast envoy Robert Serry warned last week that peace talks were at a crossroad after 10 months and that both sides must step up efforts to reach their goal. A US-hosted conference in Annapolis, Maryland, last November drew 44 nations, including Israel's neighboring Arab states, whose support is considered vital to any peace agreement. The gathering was aimed at pushing forward negotiations under the so-called "road map" for peace plan. Under the first phase of the plan, Israel was to freeze all settlement construction and the Palestinians were to crack down on terror groups. But each side has accused the other of shirking its responsibilities. The plan's sponsors, the Quartet of Mideast mediators - the US, the European Union, Russia and the UN - are scheduled to meet Friday on the sidelines of the General Assembly meeting. (00,42)
