ARAB LEAGUE secretary general Nabil al-Arabi announced yesterday that the organisation would submit to the UN a request for recognition of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Following a meeting of the league’s peace initiative committee in Doha, the Qatari capital, he said it would “present a request for full membership of a Palestinian state to the General Assembly and the Security Council”.
The meeting was attended by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and chief negotiator Saeb Erekat who said its object was to “strengthen Arab support for obtaining full membership for a Palestinian state”.
The plan is a direct challenge to Israel, the US and several European governments which oppose the Palestinians’ drive to achieve recognition of their state within defined boundaries and full UN membership.
The Doha decision follows the failure of the Quartet, comprised of the US, UN, EU and Russia, to restart negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis. Mr Abbas refuses to resume talks until Israel halts settlement construction in the West Bank and agrees to negotiate on the basis of the line of June 1967.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu rejects the 1967 line and insists that Palestinians must recognised Israel as a Jewish state.
He also rejects Palestinian sovereignty over East Jerusalem and seeks to annex Israeli settlements and to maintain Israel’s presence in the Jordan Valley.
Palestinians dismiss these demands.
