Erekat calls for ‘alternative to two-state solution’
PA negotiator says Palestinians should consider declaring Oslo Accords "null and void."
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHErekat 311(photo credit: AP)
A paper prepared by Chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat on the status of the peace talks with Israel recommends that the Palestinians consider the possibility of abandoning the two-state solution in favor of a one-state solution if the peace process does not move forward.Another option that the Palestinians should consider, according to Erekat, is the re-evaluation of the Oslo Accords and “declaring them null and void, partially or completely, or applying them selectively in a manner consistent with Palestinian interests.”The paper recommends that the Palestinians link cooperation on issues that matter to Israel, such as security cooperation, with Israel upholding its obligations [to the peace process].Erekat’s paper also recommends a “campaign of non-violent resistance, such as prohibition of Palestinians working in settlements and boycott of Israeli products.”On the two-state solution, the document suggests that the Palestinians “develop credible alternatives to the traditional two-state solution, such as a one-state solution or a bi-national state,” and dissolve the PA.The paper, which is entitled “The Political Situation in Light of Developments with the US Administration and Israeli Government and Hamas’s continued Coup d’etat,” was written in December 2009.The paper calls for unifying Palestinian messages and positions regarding the peace talks with Israel.Its main points include the following directives:• Final-status negotiations must be based on previously agreed terms of reference – international law, UN resolutions, including 242, 338, 1397, 1515 and 194, as well as the Road Map and the Arab Peace Initiative.• Final-status talks must lead to ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 and the establishment of a sovereign and viable Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital.
• Final status talks must be resumed from the point where they ended in December 2008.• Israel must implement a comprehensive settlement freeze, including ineast Jerusalem, and reopen Palestinian institutions in the city. Israelalso must remove settlement outposts established since March 2001, liftthe siege and closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip and halt raids,arrests and assassinations and all activities that may jeopardizebuilding mutual trust and confidence.Erekat’s paper recommends that the Palestinians try to secure a UNSecurity Council resolution that recognizes the state of Palestine onthe 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital, as well as a justand agreed solution to the Palestinian refugee issue in accordance withResolution 194.
