Palestinian negotiator says Israeli Government is not a partner in the peace process

A senior member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Chairman of the Palestinian delegation for the negotiations, has said that the Israeli government is neither a partner in the International Quartet nor a partner with Palestinians in the peace process.

Saeb Erekat made his claim to the media during his meeting with the Director General of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Andreas Mikiailis, the Spanish General Consul Alfonso Portabuls; and the representative of the European Union in Palestine, Krician Berger, in the city of Jericho. He was commenting on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of the principle of a two-state solution on the basis of the borders of June 1967.

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“Netanyahu’s declarations were clear and specific about the final status issues,” said Dr Erekat. “He wants to drop the refugees and Jerusalem from the final negotiations and wants to determine the result of the security issue in advance by insisting that Palestine will be a demilitarised state and the Israeli army will remain in the Jordan valley.”
 
He added: “Netanyahu holds on to what he calls the settlement blocs, and thus he has already decided the outcome of the final status negotiations without negotiations taking place. Moreover, he rejects Palestinian reconciliation, and insists on Palestinian recognition of Israel as a specifically Jewish state.”