Peace in a year and Jerusalem as the capital of the two states, proposes Abbas
Ramallah (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Two states within the 1967 borders at peace with each other with Jerusalem as their shared capital and a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem on the basis of past United Nations resolutions, this is the programme the new Palestinian government chaired by Salaam Fayad presented today to the Palestinian parliament. Against this Haaretz said on Wednesday that Israel was ready to offer the Palestinians a state on 90 per cent of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including a tunnel to link the two Palestinian territories
The programme by the new Palestinian government—which Hamas does not recognise—was presented a day after Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas told Israeli daily Maariv that he hoped to reach a comprehensive peace deal with Israel's government "within one year".
Mr Abbas also told Israel's Maariv newspaper that US President George W Bush wanted to see a Middle East peace accord before he leaves office in 2009.
In the Maariv interview, Mr Abbas said the US was "determined to push the parties into reaching an agreement” from “the president himself and from Secretary of State [Condoleezza] Rice," he said.
“We have to reach the final formula, the end game, and then think about the implementation and set a timetable for the implementation on the ground,” Mr Abbas added.
“The timetable may be long,” he noted, “but what is important is for the Palestinians to know the final result, the end game, from the outset.”
How Hamas will react remains to be seen. But it is not likely that it will accept President Abbas’ plan to hold fresh elections to defeat of the Islamist movement.
In the meantime the heads of those considered responsible for the debacle of PNA security forces in Gaza have started rolling
PNA Security Adviser and Fatah strongman in Gaza Mohammed Dahlan yesterday submitted his resignation.
More officials who failed to contain Hamas’ armed groups from taking total control of the Strip should follow soon.
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25/08/2008
