Palestinians ready to trade for UN recognition

Ramallah: The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) are ready to trade instantly an Israeli freeze of its colonial activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to a drop of the Palestinian plans of approaching the UN to recognise a Palestinian independent state and the immediate restart of the peace negotiations to reach a peace agreement with Israel.

A senior PLO official told Gulf News that the US administration and Israelis have been aware of Palestinian intentions and that those points will be clearly handled and discussed between the Israelis and the Americans in the coming days.

The official stressed that the Palestinians have already won the diplomatic confrontation with the Israelis regarding the Israeli colonial activities.

"This is a fair cause for the Palestinians but will cost the PLO and the PNA dearly should the Palestinians resume the peace negotiations under the Israeli spreading colonial activities," he said.

"Freezing the Israeli colony activities is a red line which the PLO and the PNA can not cross or else they will risk the total collapse of the PNA and other PLO institutions," he said.

"Resumption of the negotiations with the Israelis without getting them freezing their colony activities, the PLO and the PNA will lose the public support, especially after the unity deal," he added.

"The entire world, including the US administration and the Israeli government understand the attitude of the PNA regarding the colony freeze, under which absence the PNA will fall apart," he said.

"We are fully optimistic about the days, weeks and months to come, assuming that the current deadlock in the peace process will be handled and come over," he said.

"A Palestinian proposal of trading the colony freeze for the resumption of negotiations and drop of the Palestinian UN plans clearly show that the Palestinians are basically seeking peace and an end to the Israeli- Palestinian struggle,' he said.

The PLO and the PNA believe that there are no problems in the way for peace, but if there any, they are created by the Israeli government which does not want to have peace with the Palestinians.

"There should be no problems in the peace negotiations unless Israel creates some," he said. "Peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians can be reached within days only if the Israelis have the real intention to reach it," he added.

The official stressed that it is time for the Israelis to halt their war against the Palestinian government to be formed in the coming few days. "This government will compromise independent autocrats who do not belong to any Palestinian political party or faction," he said.

"The Palestinian government and the PNA is something and the Palestinian factions and political parties are completely something else," he said. "Quartet conditions do not apply on the factions but the government will stick to the programs and policies of the PLO and the PNA," he stressed.