JERUSALEM, Nov 15: Palestinian officials said on Sunday they were preparing to ask the United Nations to endorse an independent state without Israel’s consent because they were losing hope they would achieve their aspirations through peace talks.
The announcement drew a harsh response from Israeli officials.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said frustrated Palestinians had decided to turn to the UN Security Council after 18 years of on-again, off-again negotiations with Israel.
The Palestinians seek an independent state that includes the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem --- areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war.
“Now is our defining moment. We went into this peace process in order to achieve a two-state solution,” he said. “The endgame is to tell the Israelis that now the international community has recognised the two-state solution on the ‘67 borders.”
Initially the Palestinians declared independence unilaterally on Nov 15, 1988. The declaration was recognised by dozens of countries, but never implemented.
US efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are deadlocked.
Even if the UN endorses the Palestinian idea, it would be virtually impossible to implement while Israel remains in control of the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Nearly 500,000 Israeli settlers live in these areas, in addition to thousands of Israeli troops stationed on bases.
Israeli Vice-Prime Minister Silvan Shalom, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, warned the Palestinians against taking any one-sided action.
“I think the Palestinians should know that unilateral actions will not lead to the results they hope for,” he said.—AP
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