pbel
Gold Member
- Feb 26, 2012
- 5,653
- 449
- 130
Palestinians cool to partial settlement freeze
"We are after four years of stalemate, of distrust, and we need to see how we restart, what we will discuss," she told Army Radio.
Erekat said the Palestinians would wait for two to three months to see if the Obama administration can come up with a way out of the deadlock. "We want to cooperate with the U.S. administration, not clash with it," he said.
If the deadlock persists, the Palestinians will move ahead with their quest for international recognition, he said. "We have to focus on the steadfastness of our people, and we have 63 international agencies we can join," he said.
In November, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly recognized a state of Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, despite objections by the U.S. and Israel. The recognition paved the way for Palestinians to seek membership in U.N. agencies and other international organizations.
Earlier Sunday, Israel dismantled a tent camp Palestinians set up during Obama's recent visit to protest Israeli plans to build a large West Bank settlement near Jerusalem.
During his visit, Obama singled out the settlement, known by its planning name E-1, as particularly problematic. The settlement of more 3,500 apartments would close one of the last open spaces between east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Before dawn Sunday, about 200 Israeli police officers removed some 40 demonstrators from the tent camp, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. Three protesters were arrested, but no injuries were reported, Rosenfeld said.
The encampment is part of a new Palestinian tactic to protest against Israeli settlement expansion.
"We are after four years of stalemate, of distrust, and we need to see how we restart, what we will discuss," she told Army Radio.
Erekat said the Palestinians would wait for two to three months to see if the Obama administration can come up with a way out of the deadlock. "We want to cooperate with the U.S. administration, not clash with it," he said.
If the deadlock persists, the Palestinians will move ahead with their quest for international recognition, he said. "We have to focus on the steadfastness of our people, and we have 63 international agencies we can join," he said.
In November, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly recognized a state of Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, despite objections by the U.S. and Israel. The recognition paved the way for Palestinians to seek membership in U.N. agencies and other international organizations.
Earlier Sunday, Israel dismantled a tent camp Palestinians set up during Obama's recent visit to protest Israeli plans to build a large West Bank settlement near Jerusalem.
During his visit, Obama singled out the settlement, known by its planning name E-1, as particularly problematic. The settlement of more 3,500 apartments would close one of the last open spaces between east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Before dawn Sunday, about 200 Israeli police officers removed some 40 demonstrators from the tent camp, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. Three protesters were arrested, but no injuries were reported, Rosenfeld said.
The encampment is part of a new Palestinian tactic to protest against Israeli settlement expansion.
