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News | World | Middle East

Palestinian state 'may have to be abandoned'

MOHAMMED ASSADI | RAMALLAH, WEST BANK - Nov 04 2009 17:41
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Palestinians may have to abandon the goal of an independent state if Israel continues to expand Jewish settlements and the United States does not stop it, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Wednesday.

It may be time for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to "tell his people the truth, that with the continuation of settlement activities, the two-state solution is no longer an option", Erekat told a news conference.

Israel has rejected the idea of a de facto annexation of the occupied West Bank, incorporating the Palestinians as citizens, as "demographic timebomb" that would make Jews the minority.

Citing a 2003 peace "road map", Abbas has made a cessation of Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank a precondition for resuming statehood talks with Israel.

The road map also required that Palestinians dismantle armed groups such as Islamist Hamas, which opposes peace talks. That did not happen, and Hamas now controls the Gaza Strip -- half the Palestinian polity -- in a running challenge to Abbas's mandate.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who met Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Saturday, unsuccessfully urged Abbas to negotiate with Israel and resolve the settlement issue within the framework of the talks.

Erekat said Clinton -- who praised as unprecedented Netanyahu's offer to temporarily limit construction in West Bank settlements to 3 000 additional housing units -- was only opening the door to more settlements in the next two years.

The alternative left for Palestinians is to "refocus their attention on the one-state solution where Muslims, Christians and Jews can live as equals", Erekat said. "It is very serious. This is the moment of truth for us."

Dictation vs negotiation
Erekat said Netanyahu's concept of a separate Palestinian state alongside Israel with limited powers of sovereignty and his uncompromising position on the future of Jerusalem were tantamount to dictating the terms of peace negotiations.

CONTINUES BELOW


Netanyahu, Erekat said, told Abbas "that Jerusalem will be the eternal and united capital of Israel, that refugees won't be discussed, that our state will be demilitarised, that we have to recognise the Jewish state, that it's not going to be the 1967 borders, that the skies will be under his control" .

"This is dictation and not negotiations," he said.

Netanyahu and Abbas last met in New York in September in a handshake meeting arranged by US President Barack Obama.

Palestinians seek to establish their future state on all of the West Bank and Gaza, lands captured from Jordan and Egypt in a 1967 war, with East Jerusalem as its capital. "Anything short of that is a non-option for us," Erekat said.

"If the Israelis believe they want to partition the West Bank with us, this is a no-go. This is a non-starter," Erekat said, in reference to Israeli control of West Bank settlements, adjacent land, and the territory's eastern Jordan Valley border.

Clinton reaffirmed in Cairo on Wednesday that Washington does not accept the legitimacy of the Israeli settlements.

But she added, in another nudge to Palestinians to talk with Israel: "Getting into final status negotiations will allow us to bring an end to settlement activity."

Erekat said Palestinians "made a mistake" in the past by agreeing to negotiate with Israel without insisting on a settlement halt, and they were not about to repeat that error.

In a statement, Netanyahu said Israel's aim remained the quick resumption of peace talks. But he also deplored the split between Hamas and Abbas's secular Fatah faction, which has widened over the president's disputed call for a January 24 ballot.

"The possibility that Palestinian election might be held soon is causing a polarisation of Palestinian Authority positions regarding Israel and is hindering the opening of negotiations," Netanyahu's office quoted him as saying. -- Reuters
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There was never any chance of creating another Arab state in Palestine. That was never what the 'Palestinians' were invented for. Arafat created them in 1964 as pawns in the Arab/Moslem genocide and policide of the Jewish National Home. This was done despite the International Law of 1919, 1920 and 1922 which all gave title to the Jews for the re-constitution of their National Home. Even the UN failed to uphold International Law when time and time again is passed resolutions against Israel in contravention of article 80 of its charter!
The Arabs who reside in the Jewish Homeland have to decide if they wish to stay and live in peace or go. There are no other options.
fivish simcha on November 4, 2009, 6:14 pm
There already IS a Palestinian homeland. It's been there for many decades already, located east of the River Jordan.

It's called the "Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan".

Or just Jordan, for short.
Jon Low on November 5, 2009, 4:33 am
Where's Ahmadinejad with his missiles when you need him?
Billy Hill on November 5, 2009, 5:36 am
Pity that the international commuity is still scared of Israel, as a friend to the powerful and terrorist state to her neighbours. My view ius that Palestinians should not give up the dream of having their own state. It might not seem near, but eventaully it will happen adn zionist will havev to pay dearly for that. I am also glad that tehy are not relying on that fanatic from Uran for their liberation, but are through their own efforts, in the tough circumstances of arrest, murder and terror by the IDF. Perhaps our kinds and their children will be in East Jerusalem one day to witness the freedom that is currently contested and since 1947.
Abu Kamogelo on November 5, 2009, 6:41 am
These two should stop talking and just go to war and settle the matter once and for all. To the victors go the spoils- finish and klaar.
They will never agree on anything because the Jews harbour a superiority complex, so are less likely to compromise on anything. This is one matter that can only be solved on the battlefield.
warren oliphant on November 5, 2009, 8:14 am
Lebonen, Jordan and Egypt have done a great job of keeping Palestinians as refugees. While Israel are the only one's getting the blame I guess it works. Why the Palestinian's arab brothers continue to abuse their situation must be questioned.

I can't help wondering if the 270 rockets fired at Israel since it retreated from Gaza (and the more than 3000 during the 18 months prior) doesn't have an impact on these 'negotiations'.
Brencis Price on December 16, 2009, 8:14 pm
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