PA: We May Demand Binational
Israel-Palestinian State
By Reuters
10/08/08 "Reuters" -- - Senior Palestinian negotiator Ahmed
Qureia said Sunday that the Palestinians may demand to become
part of a binational state if Israel continued to reject the
borders they propose for a separate country.
Qureia, who heads Palestinian negotiators in U.S.-brokered talks
with Israel, told Fatah party loyalists behind closed doors that
a two-state solution could be achieved only if Israel met their
demands to withdraw from all Palestinian territory in accordance
with 1967 borders, a reference to land in the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip that Israel captured in the 1967 Six Day War.
"The Palestinian leadership has been working on establishing a
Palestinian state within the '67 borders," Qureia said.
"If Israel continues to oppose making this a reality, then the
Palestinian demand for the Palestinian people and its leadership
[would be] one state, a binational state," he added at the
meeting held in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Qureia's comments were carried in a statement issued after the
meeting.
The chances of achieving a peace deal before the expiration of
Washington's deadline, when U.S. President George W. Bush leaves
office next year, have dimmed since Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
announced last month he planned to resign in the coming weeks
due to multiple corruption investigations underway against him.
Despite the Israeli political crisis, Olmert, who has vowed to
pursue peace efforts until he leaves office, met with
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last week. The two are said
to be planning additional talks later this month.
But months of discussions have produced little visible progress
on key issues of the conflict such as who would control
Jerusalem, a city both Israel and the Palestinians want for a
capital, and the future for millions of Palestinian refugees.
A Palestinian official said Qureia told Sunday's gathering he
thought the peace talks had hit an impasse.
The unsuccessful efforts to realize the goal of a separate state
has touched off debate among Palestinians for months, including
as to whether they should seek instead to merge into a joint
state with Israel.
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