PLO: Palestinians won't accept current proposals from Israel

Executive Committee warns there will be no deal that excludes Jordan Valley, Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount 390 (photo credit: Ilan Evyatar)
Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount 390
(photo credit: Ilan Evyatar)
The Palestinians can’t accept any proposals or plans like the ones that are being suggested today; that solidify occupation and legalize the division of the Palestinian territories, the PLO Executive Committee announced Sunday.
The announcement, which was issued to mark the 26th anniversary of the first intifada that began in 1987, was referring to recent security arrangements between Israel and the Palestinians, as proposed by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
The PLO warned that there could be no deal with Israel that excludes the Jordan Valley, and Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.
The PLO also expressed opposition to the presence of any settlement blocs in the West Bank in the context of a future deal with Israel. “We can’t accept that the airspace, borders and border crossings remain under the control of the occupiers,” the PLO said.
Meanwhile, the ruling Fatah faction – the PLO’s largest group – vowed to pursue “popular resistance” against Israel until Palestinians fulfill their rights.
Saying that it had created the term intifada, Fatah referred to the first uprising as the “stone intifada.”
“Fatah has consolidated the popular uprising as a program for struggling against occupation and settlements,” the faction said in a statement. “Popular resistance is a natural extension to the struggle of our people.”
It said that while it would pursue the path of “popular resistance,” Fatah would continue to work politically in the international arena to achieve the goals of the Palestinians.