PLO slams Netanyahu’s praise of Egyptian peace initiative

Secretary of the PLO Saeb Erekat strongly criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the latter said he preferred the Egyptian peace initiative to the French option, QudsNet reported yesterday.

Erekat accused Netanyahu of seeking to undermine international efforts to revive the peace process.

“Netanyahu does not believe in the two-state solution. He believes in maintaining the status quo,” Erekat explained.

“We were born in this land in order to redraw Palestine on the world map. The French initiative seeks to achieve the two-state solution after a long time of failing to establish a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

“Basically, there is no Egyptian initiative. Cairo moved in complete coordination with the Palestinian leadership based on Arab [League] understandings.”

“When the Egyptian foreign minister visited Israel, he reiterated the need to resume talks on the basis of establishing a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

He stressed that the resumption of negotiations would never happen without full Arabic support for the Palestinian stance.

The current Israeli government does not want PA President Mahmoud Abbas a partner, he explained, it seeks to replace him.