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Arab League to Declare Palestinian State if Talks Fail
The Arab League will turn to the UN Security Council to declare a Palestinian state if proximity talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials fail to achieve progress by September, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abul Gheit said Saturday.
According to Egyptian news site Al-Masry Al-Youm, Abul Gheit said Arab countries should act while taking into consideration UNSC Resolution 1515 calling for the creation of a Palestinian state in coexistence with Israel, on which the Arab League decision is based.
Abul Gheit emphasized the importance of establishing the Palestinian state in principle and to garner international support for the main elements of a settlement with Israel, according to statements issued by the minister following a meeting held in Paris to follow up on the International Donors’ Conference for the Palestinian Authority.
The Arab League endorsed the second round of US-brokered indirect talks with Israel in May, after they were initially derailed in March following Israel’s announcement that an illegal East Jerusalem settlement would be enlarged during US Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to the region.
The Cairo-based body gave the talks a four-month deadline and has repeatedly called on Israel to abide by its various commitments with regard to occupied Palestinian and Syrian land, threatening to withdraw the Arab Peace Initiative on several occasions.
Last week, Arab League chief Amr Moussa said an emergency summit would be held in October to develop a mechanism for joint Arab activities, calling on Arab countries to organize the home front in order to face the political, security, and economic challenges related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Meanwhile, Moussa dismissed Friday talk of an upcoming war on Lebanon, and stressed that Arab states were in the process of planning steps to challenge Israel’s rejection of the peace initiative, Lebanon’s Daily Star reported.
“I don’t believe that a war is imminent, and I believe that whether it is the other side [Israel] claiming it or some other party, they are exaggerating; they’re just statements, or exaggeration springing from fear, but we must remain alert,” Moussa said following a meeting with Lebanese premier Saad Hariri.
The Arab League chief’s comments followed remarks by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who warned of “a resumption of hostilities” between Israel and Lebanon in a report obtained Friday by the French news wire Agence France-Presse.
Ma’an/Agencies