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World Jewish News
Peres calls for Palestinian state with provisional borders
11.06.2009
Israel and the Palestinians ought to move onto the second stage of the road map peace plan which stipulates the establishment of a Palestinian state with temporary borders, President Shimon Peres said on Thursday.
Peres met on Thursday with the European Union's chief foreign policy official, Javier Solana, to discuss the latest developments in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
During the session, Peres said that Israel and the Palestinians should agree on the declaration of a Palestinian state with temporary borders, "subject to a clear promise that the border will in a short span of time become permanent borders."
"The road map presents us with a clear outline and the second stage must be implemented," Peres told Solana.
The road map is a U.S.-proposed multi-stage diplomatic plan that was approved by both the Israeli government under Ariel Sharon and the Palestinian Authority.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to announce his support for the road map in a major policy speech at Bar-Ilan University on Sunday.
Netanyahu, though, is not expected to commit to a full freeze on construction in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The Obama administration is pressuring Jerusalem to declare such a freeze, though Netanyahu has thus far balked due to fears it would endanger his ruling coalition.
Peres told Solana that the Israeli government has pledged not to build new settlements and it has promised to dismantle illegal outposts. The issue of settlement construction to accommodate "natural growth" is an issue that should be negotiated between Israel and the U.S., Peres said.
Источник: Haaretz
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