Palestinians call for immediate political negotiations
AFP
Date: 03-28-05
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, (AFP) - Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat called for an immediate resumption of political negotiations and warned that unilateral action by Israel "invites extremism".
Erakat made the remarks in a prepared speech distributed to delegates at a three-day "Peace in Palestine" conference here after organisers said he withdrew from the meeting for family reasons.
"Unilateralism only invites extremism and signals a rejection of a negotiated solution to the conflict," he said.
"We again reiterate our call for immediate resumption of political negotiations.
"To that end, the Palestinians look to the European Union, to the United States, the other members of the Quartet (Russia and the United Nations), and to our Arab neighbours to intensify involvement in order to revive the political process and to re-establish a political framework based on a political vision of the two-state solution and the terms of reference of the peace process."
Erakat welcomed the Israeli plan to withdraw from Gaza and northern parts of the West Bank, saying "this decision represents a glimmer of hope".
"We hope this marks the beginning of a process that leads to further withdrawals from occupied Palestinian territory. We do not want Gaza-first to become Gaza-last," he said.
"The withdrawal therefore should be part of and consistent with the provisions of the Roadmap. It must lead to the creation of a self-sufficient, independent economy that is not dependent solely on aid."
Israeli settlements remained the principal obstacle to ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Erakat said.
"Continued Israeli theft of Palestinian land is a constant signal to Palestinians that the current Israeli government has no intention to fulfill the vision of two-states or to live within recognised and secured borders."
In Gaza City on Sunday, Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas slammed as "unacceptable" any question that major Jewish settlement blocs in the West Bank be taken into account in a final Middle East peace agreement, as envisioned by Washington.
Last week, Israel announced it would push ahead with the expansion of the largest West Bank settlement -- Maaleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem -- through the construction of more than 3,500 new homes.
Erakat said that on the security front, the Palestinian Authority (PA) would "do all it can possibly to to maintain public law and order, to prevent attacks against Israel and Israelis".
The authority would work to "establish a ceasefire with the Palestinian factions," he said, adding: "For any ceasefire to work and for it to be effective and for it to produce the results we envision, Israel too must reciprocate.
"This means that Israel must declare a comprehensive ceasefire with the PA."
More than 200 international delegates are attending the conference, organised by the government-backed Peace Malaysia grouping of non-governmental organisations.
Among the delegates are five Israelis who received special permission to attend from the government, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said in a luncheon address that it was tough to be upbeat about the Middle East peace process after numerous breakthroughs in the past turned out to be "false dawns".
But recent developments, including a newly elected Palestinian leader and indications of increasing US engagement towards revitalising the roadmap, have provided a "glitter of hope", he said.
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