Israeli recognition of the 1967 lines as the future borders of Israel
and a Palestinian state is the only way to achieve peace in the Middle
East, PLO Executive Committee member Saeb Erekat said on Monday.
Erekat said that the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement was a “real
pillar” for any solution based on two states on the 1967 lines and the
only way to hold elections in the Palestinian territories.
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Erekat’s statements were made during separate meetings he held with the consuls general of the US, France, Norway and Canada.
Erekat noted that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would meet next Saturday in Doha with Arab foreign ministers to discuss the repercussions of US President Barack Obama’s recent statements regarding the peace process.
Erekat, who until recently served as chief PLO negotiator with Israel, said that UN recognition of a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines with Jerusalem as its capital would guarantee preserving the two-state solution.
He also criticized the Israeli government for continuing to build in settlements and east Jerusalem neighborhoods. “The Israeli government has chosen the past at the expense of the future,” Erekat charged. “It has also chosen settlements over peace and dictates over negotiations.”
The Hamas government, meanwhile, renewed its call to the PA to reconsider its policies toward the peace process in light of Obama’s statements.
The government said that Obama’s remarks have worsened and complicated the situation because of Washington’s “blind bias” in favor of Israel.
Hamas said that Obama has fully endorsed Israeli policies by supporting occupation and accused him of deceiving and misleading the Palestinians.