The Israeli foreign ministry dismissed on Monday a proposal by the EU foreign policy chief that the UN should recognize Palestinian statehood, if the two sides failed to reach a deal, Israeli media said.
Speaking at a lecture in London, Javier Solana said that the UN should adopt the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to “accept the Palestinian state as a full member of the UN” if the two states fail to reach an agreement by a certain deadline.
“According to UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, the Road Map and the treaties signed between the two sides, a solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be reached through negotiations,” Haaretz quoted a statement by the Israeli foreign ministry.
“Another demand setting an artificial deadline endangers and harms the chances of actually reaching a bilateral agreement between Israel and the Palestinians,” the statement reads.
On Sunday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the Palestinian leadership to return to the negotiating table.
“I call again on the Palestinian leadership in Judea and Samaria, to the leaders of the Palestinian Authority, let us meet. Let us make peace, diplomatic peace and economic peace,” Haaretz quoted Netanyahu as saying.
The call, however, was rejected by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who said negotiations would resume only if Israel halts settlement construction in the West Bank. Israel currently has 121 Jewish settlements with a population of about 300,000 in the West Bank.
“Israel must recognize the two-state solution and stop all settlement activities in order to resume peace talks over final status issues,” Jerusalem post quoted Abbas as saying. “The final status issues are settlements, Jerusalem, borders, refugees, water, security and prisoners.”
