NEW YORK — With his administration and U.S. allies unable to dissuade Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from pursuing membership at the United Nations, President Obama will make a case today for reviving the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Obama – who will meet with Abbas today – is expected to include in his remarks before the U.N. General Assembly a reiteration of U.S. policy: that for the decades-old conflict to be resolved, Palestinians and Israelis must negotiate.

“It’s going to have to be the Israelis and the Palestinians sitting down, dealing with the very hard issues that have divided them,” Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Tuesday, offering a preview of Obama’s remarks.

Speaking to the same gathering a year ago, Obama suggested it was possible that both sides could reach agreement. But peace talks stalled nearly a year ago, and the Palestinians say they have no choice but to pursue recognition at the U.N.

Israel is vehemently opposed to that, saying U.N. recognition will poison any peace talks. Obama is slated to meet today with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after delivering his remarks, and the White House announced late Tuesday that the president will meet with Abbas at 6 p.m. EDT today.

Abbas has said he’ll present a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday – which Ban will pass to the Security Council – requesting full U.N. membership for an independent state of Palestine.

Obama has vowed to block the request using the veto the United States wields as one of five permanent Security Council members.

Republicans sought to blame the administration for the Israeli-Palestinian showdown, with GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry holding a news conference in New York, where the Texas governor said a White House “policy of appeasement” had encouraged the Palestinians to act.

Rhodes rejected that characterization, saying the administration has been steadfast in its support for Israel.

In a statement before Perry spoke, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney also waded into the dispute and called the jockeying at the United Nations this week “an unmitigated disaster.”

 

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