PLO chief: Very few still believe two-state solution is achievable

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Monday 16 Nov 2015 - 18:18 Makkah mean time-4-2-1437 PLO chief Erekat (Google image) Ramallah (IINA) – On the occasion of Palestine's Independence Day, PLO Secretary General Dr Saeb Erekat said in a statement that only very few still believe that a two-state solution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict can be achieved, WAFA reported. “Twenty-eight years after the painful historic compromise made by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Israel continued to destroy the prospects of a two-state solution to an extent where very few still believe that this goal could be achieved,” he said. Erekat noted that in the past three decades, Israel's settler population in the West Bank has more than tripled, adding that “Israeli policies, including land grab, theft of natural resources, forcible transfer and collective punishments among others continue to derail Palestinian fundamental human rights.” He said though the PLO took a historical compromise by recognizing Israel over 78% of historic Palestine, Israel still refuses to recognize the State of Palestine. The PLO Secretary General maintained that the international community remains a “partner in the killing of hope in the minds of Palestinians by providing the occupying power with the diplomatic cover it needs to continue with its crimes.” Meanwhile, Erekat expressed solidarity on behalf of Palestine with the Lebanese and French people after the “devastating and tragic terror attacks” in Beirut and Paris, adding that “both constitute crimes against humanity that must be condemned in the strongest terms.” “As a nation that has suffered from decades of state-sponsored terror, we call upon the international community to cooperate in order to ensure that justice is served for all. Our thoughts and prayers are with the peoples and governments of Lebanon and France," he said. AB/IINA