Palestinian official warns from accepting American offer regarding statehood

RAMALLAH, A Palestinian official on Sunday warned the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) from accepting an American offer to create a Palestinian statehood on provisional borders.

Taysser Khaled, a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) executive committee, revealed that the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in her last visit to Ramallah, tried to get the PNA’s acceptance on a statehood with temporary borders and the postponement of the outstanding final-status issues between the PNA and Israel.

“Accepting the American offer harms the national rights of the Palestinian people,” he said, explaining that the offer means that the Palestinian statehood would be only on 60 percent of the West Bank.

Rice also proposed that the PLO and the Israeli government sign a document including the points of agreement and disagreement in the outstanding issues and keep the document at the United Nationsor the upcoming new American administration.

Khaled called on the PNA not to talk with Rice about any form of solution that does not oblige Israel to respect the relevant international resolutions.

The United States sponsors the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks which are intended to reach a deal for the creation of the statehood before U.S. President George Bush leaves office.

According to Khaled, the American offer delays the discussions on the issues of Palestinian sovereignty, Palestinians refugees, the Israeli settlements and the status of Jerusalem, the essential points that months of negotiations failed to achieve any breakthrough.

The Palestinians want their statehood to be in East Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza Strip with a geographical links between the territories.�