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16:36 GMT
WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (KUNA) -- Despite the collapse of Israeli-Palestinian
peace talks, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Sunday said
he believes it is "eminently possible" for the Israeli occupation of
Palestinian lands to end.
Appearing on ABC's "This Week" alongside former Israeli foreign minister
Tzipi Livni, Fayyad said the occupations needs to come to an end.
"The goals of the negotiations should be set high," he said. "There is no
reason by now we should not see evidence of the occupation beginning to be
rolled back."
Asked about proposals for the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian
state, in which countries recognize Palestine regardless of the peace talks,
Fayyad said the Palestinian Authority was "committed to statehood" as soon as
possible by whatever means that can be achieved.
Livni, the primary political challenger to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, said she believed the Netanyahu government's refusal to extend a
settlement freeze in the occupied West Bank "was the wrong answer."
An Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty is in the interest of Israel, she said,
and many of the problems cited by Fayyad would be resolved via a "legal peace
treaty."
The Israeli government's refusal to extend a settlement freeze, which the
United States had insisted upon when it relaunched the peace process last
August, represents a fundamental violation of the peace process, Fayyad said.
Asked about the latest US proposal, outlined by Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton on Friday, in which the parties would proceed directly to "core issues,
" Fayyad said the Palestinians "would definitely like to go into that."
But he questioned the meaning of language used by Netanyahu and key members
of his government.
What does Netanyahu have in mind when he says "Palestinian state,"? Fayyad
asked. The Palestinians' right of return is a core issue, as is the final
status of Jerusalem, he said.
"What is meant by an end to the occupation?" Fayyad asked. "There is too
much loose language" being spoken by Israeli officials, he said.
Livni said the creation of a Palestinian state was the answer to "this
sensitive problem of the Palestinians" -- referring to the Palestinians'
right of return to lands occupied by Israel since its creation in 1948.
The good news is that the parties will soon discuss their basic views on
the core issues, and the primary one for Israel is its security, she said.
"It is a matter of trust," Livni said. "The parties need to regain trust."
Livni said it was possible the Israeli government would make key decisions
in the next nine months, which is when the one-year deadline set by the Obama
administration to complete the talks will arrive.
Asked about the idea of the United States offering "bridging proposals" to
try to bring the parties to agreement, Livni said that depends on the
substance of the proposals and whether they represent the interests of Israel.
Some bridging proposals "maybe are going to be problematic," she said.
Fayyad said he would welcome such bridging proposals, which he noted
Clinton said would be attempted "if necessary."
"I feel it will be necessary," he added. (end)
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