Erekat:International Community supports Palestinian state

Palestinian chief negotiator and Fatah Central Committee member Saeb Erekat said the international community’s approval the UN membership of the State of Palestine on the basis of the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and the two state solution constitute a jenuine step to maintain the peace process. In separate meetings with UN Secretary-General’s Personal Representative to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Robert Serry, Representative of the European Union to the PNA Christian Berger and US Deputy Consul-General, Erekat stressed that the Palestinian bid for full UN membership does not conflict with the peace process or its terms of reference, whether the signed agreements, relevant international resolutions, roadmap for peace or the Arab Peace Initiative. When asked about Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on different levels, Erekat said the news is unfounded and there have been no negotiations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government since it came to power. He added that the meetings in Washington, Sharm El-Sheikh and West Jerusalem cannot be considered as negotiations, because they all focused on one question by President Mahmoud Abbas to Netanyahu on whether Israel will be stopping settlement activities.