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US, EU prepare new Mideast peace plan - Haaretz

GAZA, June 28 (KUNA) -- The US and the EU are preparing a peace plan for the Middle East in a bid to prevent the Palestinians from unilaterally seeking UN recognition of their independent state, Israeli newspaper Haaretz said Tuesday.
The international diplomatic Quartet will meet at summit level in Washington on July 11 to offer an international peace plan aims at replacing the Palestinian endeavor, it said on its online edition. No details were available on the plan.
It quoted Israeli and European officials as saying that this plan was the "last ditch" bid to stop the Palestinians from unilaterally seeking recognition of their state during the UN General Assembly (UNGA) meetings next September.
The Quartet, it added, plans to offer a new peace plan in its summit meeting on July 11.
Representatives of the Quartet -- consisting of the US, EU, UN and Russia -- would draw a plan based on the May 19 speech of UN President Barack Obama over the peace process in which he called for creating the Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with possible swap of lands with Israel.
The Quartet's summit will be held four days before the deadline in which the Palestinians should table an official request to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to demand the UN's full membership as a state.
Haaretz said the Palestinians should make their request before July 15 if they want to have enough time to table a another demand to vote on recognizing their independent state during UNGA.
The American Administration agreed to hold the summit following intense pressure by the EU countries, namely Germany, France and Britain, said the paper, but the Obama administration was still trying to stop the Palestinians from reaching the UN. (end) mzt.bs KUNA 282159 Jun 11NNNN