Erekat: PA statehood bid helps preserve peace process
During meeting with Arab League, PA chief negotiator says move "doesn't aim at any kind of confrontation or conflict."
By JPOST.COM STAFFErekat talking with hands in air 311(photo credit: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
Palestinian Authority chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the Palestinians' application to the United Nations for official recognition of a Palestinian state was a positive development for the peace process, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday."Our request for UN permanent membership for the Palestinian State with 1967 borders and capital as Jerusalem doesn't aim at any kind of confrontation or conflict but it is only to maintain the option of two states and to preserve the peace process," Erekat said.RELATED:PM would accept pre-’67 lines as baseline for talksPA: Israel-US plans to revive peace talks 'valueless'Erekat was speaking after meeting Arab League representatives in Doha, Qatar as part of a two-day meeting to lay the final touches on the PA’s statehood application to the UN.The meeting comes as the PA leadership in Ramallah continues to face pressure from the US and EU to abandon its statehood plan and return to the negotiating table with Israel.
The meeting in Doha was being attended by several Arab legal experts who were invited by the PA to help in the wording of the application to the UN in September.Arab League Secretary- General Nabil Elaraby, who is considered an expert on international law, was also participating in the discussions.When the application is completed, it will be handed over to the UN secretary general so he could bring it before the General Assembly in September, a PA official said.Representatives of Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, in addition to the PA, were taking part in the discussions on the statehood bid, the official said.Khaled Abu Toameh contributed to this report.
