AP, Jerusalem :
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that he supports further negotiations on a proposed U.N. Security Council resolution that sets a 2017 deadline for an Israeli withdrawal from war-won lands the Palestinians seek for their state.
His comments indicated that he is trying to avoid a clash with Washington at the council.
The Arab-backed draft, submitted by Jordan on Wednesday, sets aside one year for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and two more years for implementing a deal. The Palestinians seek a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in 1967.
The resolution is unlikely to face an immediate vote, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Thursday.
Abbas said Thursday that “we will continue in our consultations with the brothers and friends through deliberations, which will take place in the United Nations.”
