Israel Matzav

Erekat: 'Obama told us he will veto UN statehood bid'

Former 'Palestinian' chief negotiator bottle washer Saeb Erekat has told the 'Palestinian' newspaper al-Ayyam that in talks last week with the 'Palestinian Authority,' the Obama administration told the 'Palestinians' that it will veto any attempt at a unilateral declaration of 'statehood' in the UN Security Council. According to a report on the interview by Israel Radio, the 'Palestinians' were told that 'negotiations' are the only way to a two-state solution.

That's consistent with a statement issued on Tuesday at a press conference by US President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed that any Palestinian effort to seek UN recognition for statehood should be avoided.

Obama, who was reiterating his own position on the issue, was speaking at a news conference after White House talks with Merkel.

Obama has said in the past that a unilateral UN recognition of an independent Palestinian state would be a meaningless empty gesture.

During Tuesday's news conference, Merkel stressed that "unilateral measures are not helping at all" to bring about a two-state solution.

PLO leader Hanan Ashrawi slammed Obama and Merkel.

"People do not negotiate their right to statehood. Rather, this is an inherent right," a PLO official lashed out Wednesday in the wake of US and German statements demanding Palestinian officials abort plans to seek UN recognition of statehood.

"Far from acting unilaterally, Palestinians are bringing their case for statehood before the United Nations, the world’s preeminent multilateral body. Self-determination and respect for the sovereignty of nations are principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter, making the UN a natural forum to resolve this issue," Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee said in a statement.

People who seek to establish a state to replace another state do not have an inherent right to do so. And the 'Palestinians' are neither a nation (they are Arabs and are not distinct from the inhabitants of the 22 Arab countries) nor do they have sovereignty.

Meanwhile, the 'Palestinians' have set yet another obstacle to 'negotiations,' with Erekat himself insisting that an Israeli 'settlement freeze' is a precondition to resuming talks over a 'Palestinian reichlet.

I guess those talks in Paris aren't going to happen either.

UPDATE 11:38 AM

JPost is now reporting Erekat's comments on his meeting with Obama.

Labels: Angela Merkel, Barack Obama, Hanan Ashrawi, Saeb Erekat, settlement freeze, unilateral declaration of statehood

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:19 AM