- Title: WEST BANK: Palestinians await Israeli two state plan details
- Date: 31st August 2010
- Summary: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (AUGUST 30, 2010) (REUTERS) PALESTINIAN PRIME MINSTER SALAM FAYYAD ENTERS NEWS CONFERENCE HALL LOGO FOR MEDIA CENTRE READING: 'PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY - GOVERNMENT MEDIA CENTRE' VARIOUS OF FAYYAD BEHIND PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (English) PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER SALAM FAYYAD SAYING: "We are approaching the moment of reckoning some questions really need to be answered, seriously. There is not really a whole lot of time to waste, each passing day that progress is not made towards resolving this conflict, more unfortunately, adverse facts on the ground continue to be created in a way that makes that two state solution concept more and more difficult to implement." PHOTOGRAPHERS FAYYAD LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 15th September 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: International Relations,Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAEZQKB324F2KNK4XVYOVAEJAUX
- Story Text: The Palestinian prime minister on Monday (August 30) forecast a "moment of reckoning" in the coming weeks when the Israeli prime minister is forced to explain what kind of state he has in mind for the Palestinians.
The Palestinians are set to resume direct negotiations with Israel on Thursday in Washington. They will be the first direct talks in 20 months and are the result of painstaking U.S. diplomacy aimed at reviving the peace process.
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has expressed doubt about whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ready to offer the Palestinians a state on terms they could accept.
"We are approaching the moment of reckoning some questions really need to be answered, seriously. There is not really a whole lot of time to waste, each passing day that progress is not made towards resolving this conflict, more unfortunately, adverse facts on the ground continue to be created in a way that makes that two state solution concept more and more difficult to implement," Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said at a news conference.
Last year, Fayyad said Netanyahu appeared to have a "Mickey Mouse" state in mind for the Palestinians on lands occupied by Israel, using the Disney character's name as slang for unimportant or trivial.
The Palestinians are seeking a state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Their credibility damaged by the failure of past talks, the Palestinians had sought a sense of the shape and size of the Palestinian state Netanyahu has in mind before agreeing to more negotiations.
They did not get their wish, which Netanyahu said amounted to preconditions. U.S. peace envoy George Mitchell said the parties would determine the terms of reference when they meet.
"There is not really a whole lot of time to waste," Fayyad said, warning of "adverse facts" created on the ground that will make the two-state solution "more and more difficult to implement".
Jewish settlement expansion on occupied land is one of the factors the Palestinians warn will render statehood impossible.
The Palestinians have threatened to pull out of the face-to-face negotiations unless Israel extends a moratorium on new housing starts in Jewish West Bank settlements past its expiration date of Sept. 26.
Netanyahu, who heads a government dominated by pro-settler parties including his own, has given no sign he will continue to curb construction of homes for Jews in the occupied West Bank. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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