PNA contacts US, seeks UN recognition
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The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) holds contacts with Washington to resume the Middle East peace process and at the same time it seeks the United Nations' recognition of an independent Palestinian statehood, a senior Palestinian official said on Sunday.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement sent to reporters that the PNA and the United States are holding contacts to resume the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that have been stalled for nearly a year, adding that the PNA is working to snatch UN recognition of a Palestinian statehood.
"We are now seeking to lobby a big political base to get a resolution recognizing the state of Palestine to be established on the Palestinian territories that Israel has captured during the 1967 Middle East war with East Jerusalem as its capital," said Erekat.
His remarks were made on the occasion of the Palestine's Independence Day which late leader Yasser Arafat declared in 1988."There is no need to declare a new independence day, what is needed is that the UN Security Council announcing its recognition of the state," said Erekat.
Calls for recognizing the Palestinian statehood have increased recently after peace negotiations between the PNA and Israel have come to a deadlock.
The continuation of the Jewish settlement in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the two territories that -- along with the Gaza Strip -- will form the Palestinian statehood, has thwarted mutual negotiations that were intending to achieve the two-state solution.
Erekat explained that Israel occupies the West Bank and East Jerusalem "and tries to boost the idea of statehood with provisional borders."
The Palestinians refuse the proposals of statehood with temporary boundaries that would be subject to more negotiations.
Meanwhile, Erekat said that President Abbas will visit Latin American states "to gather the support of the Latin group to the Palestinian efforts to get the UN recognition of the statehood."
More than 100 countries recognize "Palestine" but the United States, France and Britain, all UN Security Council permanent members, are not among these countries.
Earlier, Nabil Shaath, an official of Abbas's Fatah party, said that some of the European states that did not recognize "Palestine" in 1988 "are ready to think seriously now in this issue and there are discussions with the Europeans about the need to recognize the Palestinian state."
However, Erekat added that the contacts with the United States over the resumption of the peace process were still in early phases. "There has been no development or progress yet," he said.
He said the discussions have not yet led to meetings between the two sides to bridge the gaps between the PNA and the Israeli government.
"The resumption of the negotiations must be preceded with the suspension of all Israeli settlement activities, including those in Jerusalem," said Erekat.
He stressed that the negotiations must tackle all final-status issues such as the situation of Jerusalem, the refugees and the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The talks have stopped when Israel launched a major military operation in Gaza in December 2008.
When hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office in early April, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced he will not resume the negotiations until Netanyahu endorses the two-state solution and freezes the Jewish settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Israel's radio has reported that George Mitchell, the U.S. Middle East envoy, will visit the region soon in a renewed effort to restart the peace process. But Erekat said the PNA "was not informed about imminent visit by Mitchell."
Meanwhile, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman plans to visit the West Bank soon to discuss several issues with Abbas, an official from Abbas's Fatah party said.
"Suleiman's visit is almost confirmed and may take place in the coming few days," Jamal Muhaissen, a member of Fatah central committee, told reporters, adding "Suleiman will discuss with Abbas the stalled peace process."
The two key issues Suleiman would be discussing with Abbas is the stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians and the national Palestinian reconciliation which Egypt tries to broker, according to Muhaissen.
Hamas, the bitter rival of Fatah, has rejected an Egyptian proposal for reconciliation, keeping political split between the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the West Bank on.
"An important part of the visit would be dedicated to the reconciliation issue," Muhaissen said, adding that Fatah has signed the Egyptian proposal "and there will be no adjustment to the document" as Hamas demands.
Abbas wants Washington to put pressure on Israel to stop the Jewish settlement in the West Bank and East Jerusalem before resuming peace talks.
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