LONDON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Monday that European support for a Palestinian bid at the UN to force an Israeli military withdrawal could harm his country as the US sought to head of a diplomatic crisis.
"I said that the attempts of the Palestinians and of several European countries to force conditions on Israel will only lead to a deterioration in the regional situation and will endanger Israel," he said in a statement.
"Therefore, we will strongly oppose this."
The comments followed almost three hours of talks in Rome between Netanyahu and US Secretary of State John Kerry, who jetted across Europe on Monday for a hectic round of meetings.
A State Department official said Kerry and Netanyahu "had a long and thorough discussion about Israel's security and developments at the United Nations".
On his third stop of the day, Kerry arrived late Monday in London having paused en route from Rome for less than two hours in Paris to meet with European counterparts.
The Palestinians have said they will submit an Arab-backed draft text to the UN setting a two-year deadline for Israeli troops to withdraw from Palestinian land as early as Wednesday.
France is putting together a more nuanced version setting a two-year timetable for concluding a peace treaty, without mentioning the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Kerry met at Orly airport in Paris for late-night dinner talks with the foreign ministers of France, Britain and Germany inside the airport seeking clarification on the French-led resolution bid.
Traditionally the US has used its power of veto at the UN Security Council to shoot down what it sees as moves against its close regional ally, Israel.
US officials told reporters accompanying Kerry that Washington has not yet decided whether to veto or back the French-led UN initiative.
"There are certain things we would never support," said a State Department official, without elaborating.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told AFP they were looking for "a resolution which everyone can get behind".
"Even if the Palestinians have a text in their hand, the Americans have already said that they will veto it."
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