GAZA/RAMALLAH,
Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Foreign Minister
Reyad al-Malki told the Voice of Palestine Radio on Tuesday that the official
Palestinian application, including a request for a full UN membership of the
independent Palestinian state, is ready to be submitted to the UN chief.
"President
Mahmoud Abbas will hand the letter to UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon when
they meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting on Sept.
20," al-Malki said, adding that any new proposals won't change the
Palestinian bid.
The direct
peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel had been stalled since October
after Israel refused to halt settlement construction in the West Bank and east
Jerusalem. In response, the Palestinians decided to go to the UN and request an
international recognition of an independent Palestinian state.
Malki also
said he would meet International Quartet's Special Envoy Tony Blair
"soon."
Also on
Tuesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is on an official visit to
Egypt, held talks in Cairo with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In Gaza,
some 110 Palestinian Non-Government Organizations signed on a petition to
support the Palestinian attitude of going to the UN to demand an international
recognition.
Chief
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement on the occasion of the
18 years anniversary for signing the Oslo accords between Israel and the
Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO) that the ongoing Israeli government's
policies of violent repression against the Palestinians, the expansion of
settlement as well as the construction of the isolation wall "made Oslo
accords not existing anymore."
"I
don't believe that applying to the United Nations would compel Israel to end
the occupation or the expansion of settlement as well as raids and
assassinations, but it would be part of the Palestinian strategy. It is not the
end, it is the beginning of the Palestine territories' return," said
Erekat.
Islamic
Hamas movement, which has been ruling the Gaza Strip since June 2007, called in
a press statement for throwing away the Oslo accords, saying that "the
accords was the most dangerous event on our people and their legitimate
rights."
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.