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Cairo (AFP) Dec 8, 2010 The Palestinians are hoping for US recognition of an independent Palestinian state in response to Israel's refusal to freeze settlement building, chief negotiator Saeb Erakat said on Wednesday. "We hope that the American administration would recognise the Palestinian state within the 1967 borders as a response to Israel's settlement diktats and other unilateral measures," Erakat said in Cairo. "Decisions are needed and, if the United States wants to safeguard the two-state solution, it must recognise the Palestinian state within the 1967 borders," he told reporters. He was referring to the Six-Day War of 1967 when Israel seized the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Erakat was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting between Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Arab League chief Amr Mussa after Washington admitted defeat in its efforts to secure an Israeli settlement freeze. Washington acknowledged on Tuesday that it has dropped a demand that Israel renew a freeze on Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the Palestinian condition for any resumption of direct peace talks. Abbas reacted to the news saying that the peace process was in crisis. "There is no doubt that there is a crisis," Abbas said earlier Wednesday in Athens following talks with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou. Abbas said he hoped the European Union would get involved in relaunching the negotiations. "We hope that the time will soon come when the EU will play a role alongside the United States." Erakat also expressed concern over negotiations with Israel saying "the peace process is going through a dangerous impasse." "Israel's defeat of US efforts places the region on a real crossroads," Erakat said. He also said that, during his visit to Athens, Abbas asked the Greek premier to recognise a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders and urged him to seek such recognition from "the other friends in Europe." Abbas holds talks Thursday in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. At the weekend, Arab foreign ministers are due to gather in Cairo for a meeting of the Arab League Follow-up Committee to review the peace process at the request of the Palestinian leader, Arab League chief Amr Mussa announced.
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US admits failure on settlements freezeWashington (AFP) Dec 7, 2010 The United States on Tuesday suspended its demand for Israel to renew a freeze on Jewish settlement building in the West Bank, throwing Palestinian-Israeli peace talks into deeper disarray. President Barack Obama presided over the relaunch of direct negotiations in Washington in September, only to see them bog down within weeks when an Israeli settlement moratorium expired and the Palestinia ... read more |
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