Former Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qurei said Sunday that the PA's move to ask the UN Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements is a unilateral step, "but it comes in response to unilateral Israeli measures."
In an interview with Army Radio, Qurei, who is more commonly known as Abu Ala, said: "All the agreements signed with Israel say that unilateral steps are forbidden, but the settlements are just such a move. In order for negotiations to succeed, it is important that we stop unilateral moves."
Qurei also said that Palestinians insist on obtaining recognition for a Palestinian state within 1967 borders, despite Israeli opposition, because "Since the PLO accepted Security Council resolutions 242 and 228, efforts got underway to get international recognition of Palestinian rights and a state, and this continues today. Some countries that have not yet done their part to recognize Palestinian rights, are doing so today. There's nothing obscene about it and it's nothing new."
