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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan | |
| PA rejects Lieberman's idea of a truncated state | |
| 2011-01-24 | |
| [Arab News] The Paleostinian Authority on Sunday rebuffed a proposal of hawkish Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to establish a Paleostinian state with provisional borders. Saeb Erekat, chief Paleostinian negotiator, told Israeli Army Radio that Lieberman's map of Paleostinian state with provisional borders is an "invention and a joke." Erekat added that the Paleostinian position "is declared, clear and won't change."
The Israeli daily Haaretz quoted a senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official as saying in a report on Sunday that Lieberman drafted a map of a Paleostinian state with temporary borders, which would essentially "freeze the existing situation in the territories, with minor changes." Lieberman's plan, which corresponds to the second stage of the 2003 US-sponsored road map peace plan, would not involve evacuating settlements or transferring significant additional territory to the Paleostinian Authority. Thus the new state's provisional borders would comprise mainly the parts of the West Bank known as Areas A and B. The Paleostinian Authority currently has full control of Area A, and civilian but not security control of Area B. Together, these areas comprise some 42 percent of the West Bank. But a bit of additional territory might be thrown in to bring the new state up to 45 or 50 percent of the West Bank, the Haaretz report said. According to the report, Lieberman has briefed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the project but has not yet shown him the map. Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon has reportedly given his support for such a plan, and Netanyahu recently noted that an interim agreement is a possible outcome. Erekat said that Lieberman's plan came after "the Israelis felt embarrassed and isolated by the international community, which has gradually supported the establishment of a Paleostinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital." The Paleostinian negotiator added that a Paleostinian state with temporary border "has never been our choice. We had repeatedly rebuffed such proposals." US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Paleostinians collapsed in September after Israel refused to extend a 10- month moratorium over freezing settlement constructions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. | |
| Posted by:Fred |