Saturday, November 14, 2009

Erekat: PA may ask UNSC to recognize state on '67 borders


Nov. 14, 2009
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST

The Palestinian Authority is considering asking the UN Security Council to recognize the existence of a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines with its capital in east Jerusalem, top PA negotiator Saeb Erekat told the Palestinian Al-Ayyam newspaper in an interview published Saturday. Erekat said that, in light of the long-stalled negotiations with Israel, the PA was currently busy enlisting the support of various countries for such a move. The Palestinians have already received the backing of Arab nations, and Erekat said he believed that Russia and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon would also support the call.

The Palestinian negotiator added that in recent meetings with EU and UN officials, responses to the idea had been positive. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, he noted, was in support of the idea and had voiced it himself at a recent event.

Erekat said that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would be lobbying for support of the plan in his upcoming visits to South American and European nations.

He noted that he had brought the idea up several times in meetings with US officials, and said that he would continue to do so.

Meanwhile, London-based Asharq Alawsat on Saturday quoted unnamed American officials as saying that the US will not push for peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians if the two sides are not interested in doing so themselves.

The US will not negotiate over negotiations, the officials said. They explained that the Obama administration would rather wait for now than progress on a track that may fail.

The Asharq Alawsat report could not be confirmed by The Jerusalem Post.
This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1258027286557&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

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