"Perhaps the Palestinians will have a majority in the UN, but what matters is not only the quantity but also the quality"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is weighing a withdrawal of Israel occupation forces troops from the West Bank and a series of other measures to stave off the "diplomatic tsunami" that may follow international recognition of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders at the United Nations General Assembly in September, Haaretz reported.

The extent of the withdrawal is still unclear, but at this stage Netanyahu is not considering the evacuation of settlements.

Netanyahu believes that there is very little chance of resuming negotiations with the Palestinians but is examining ideas for steps that would be taken in the absence of negotiations to demonstrate an Israeli diplomatic initiative that would rally the United States, the European Union and other Western countries against a unilateral Palestinian move in the UN, the daily said.

Netanyahu commented on the matter during a meeting with European Union envoys on Monday, after he was asked whether he planned to give a political address soon. "I have not decided what to say, and when to say it," the prime minister said.

Netanyahu said: "But two questions should be asked. The first, whether it is at all possible to resume negotiations with the Palestinians? The second question is what actions can be undertaken if resumption of negotiations proves impossible?

Conversations with two Israeli sources with ties to Netanyahu's bureau led to the conclusion that there are three main ideas being considered.

The first involves another withdrawal in the West Bank, which would see the Israeli occupation forces redeploy and security responsibility handed over to the Palestinian Authority.
Attorney Isaac Molcho, who advises the prime minister, raised this idea in a meeting with emissaries of the Quartet in occupied Jerusalem last week.

The second idea is to seek an international umbrella in the form of an international conference, in which both Israel and the Palestinian Authority would participate, and which would call for a resumption of negotiations.

The third idea is to use diplomatic pressure on Western countries (the U.S., the European Union, Canada, Australia and others ) against the recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly.

Netanyahu told EU ambassadors on Wednesday that more than 100 countries, mostly from the developing world, will recognize a Palestinian state. He said that he wants to rally democracies who share values with Israel against the move.

"Perhaps the Palestinians will have a majority in the UN, but what matters is not only the quantity but also the quality," Netanyahu said.

The prime minister has said that there have been plenty of anti-Israeli decisions at the UN, but "no one can impose a solution on Israel."