Erekat to US, EU: Support PA plan seeking Palestinian state on pre-1967 lines
Chief PLO negotiator's move comes in response to Israeli government’s decision to promote plan for construction of 500 new apartments in Jerusalem’s Ramat Shlomo neighborhood.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHSaeb Erekat(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Chief PLO Negotiator Saeb Erekat on Monday urged the US and EU to support the Palestinian Authority’s plan to seek a UN Security Council resolution calling for an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines.Erekat’s appeal came in response to the Israeli government’s decision to promote a plan for the construction of 500 new apartments in Jerusalem’s Ramat Shlomo neighborhood.Erekat said that US and EU support for the Palestinian statehood bid at the Security Council would salvage the two-state solution. He also called for international recognition of a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 lines.Erekat’s announcement came shortly before he met in Washington with US Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss ways of resuming the stalled peace talks with Israel and ongoing tensions in Jerusalem.Erekat said he protested to Kerry over the Ramat Shlomo construction plan and made it clear that this decision endangers the two-state solution and is a slap in the face of the US Administration.Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority also condemned the advanced plan for new housing units in Ramat Shlomo.Abu Rudaineh, spokesman for the PA presidency, said that the latest decision was a “direct challenge” to the US Administration at a time when a Palestinian delegation is holding talks with Secretary of State John Kerry on ways of creating an appropriate atmosphere to restore calm.
