Deadlock in peace talks "will lead to apartheid state"

The Palestinian Authority has warned the deadlock in peace talks with the Israelis will result in a single state governed by the system of apartheid. In a document circulated to the media on the eve of an international donors’ meeting in New York, the PA said: “Without… a just and lasting political agreement… Israelis and Palestinians will inevitably slide into one state governed by the principles of apartheid.”

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The status quo, argues the PA, is not sustainable politically or economically. “The occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem must end for there to be any chance of a viable Palestinian state.”

The PA called on the donor states to put pressure on Israel to dismantle its military checkpoints in the West Bank and allow the development of Palestinian land, including Zone C which is under Israel’s full military and civil control.

In a related matter, thirty non-governmental organisations called on the Middle East Quartet – the US, Russia, the EU and the UN, to intervene to save West Bank Palestinian villages which are targeted by Israeli demolition orders.

The weekly reported issued by the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that in 2012 alone Israel has demolished 465 Palestinian-owned structures, including 136 houses, in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, displacing 676 Palestinians in the process.