Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit announced that the Arab League has decided to resort to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to declare the establishment of a Palestinian State if the ongoing negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis fail to achieve any progress by September.
This decision is based on the UNSC resolution number 1515 issued eight years ago. The UNSC resolution calls for a Middle East settlement based on establishing a Palestinian state coexisting with the Israeli state in peace and security.
In statements following a meeting held yesterday in Paris to follow up on the International Donors’ Conference for the Palestinian State, Abul Gheit said that Arab countries should act while taking this into consideration.
Abul Gheit added that it is important to establish the Paelstinian state at least in principle and to garner international support for the main elements of a settlement with the Israelis.
In related news, Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa expressed regret over the situation in Gaza, saying that the it is unlikely to stabilize quickly.
Meanwhile, the crisis between Hamas and Israel has deepened after the former accused the Israeli government of jeopardizing the deal to free 1000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli hostage Gilad Shalit.
Hamas leader Mahmoud el-Zahhar told Al-Jazeera satellite channel two days ago that negotiations on Palestinian prisoners–conducted on 120 rounds and with several mediators–have come to a halt after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu breached the deal.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
