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Last update - 05:24 26/07/2008
Report: PA mulling unilateral declaration of statehood
By News Agencies
Tags: Israel, U.S., Peace process 

The Palestinian Authority is considering cutting off its diplomatic contacts with Israel and unilaterally declaring statehood, the Arabic-language a-Sharq al-Awset daily reported on Friday.

"In light of the crisis we have encountered in talks with Israel, the Authority is testing a number of options," one Palestinian official told the daily. According to the report, the Palestinian Authority is also re-evaluating how to proceed with consolidating its security services.

Salah Rafat, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) council told the daily that "The Palestinian leadership will be able to make a clear and serious decision regarding the peace process," following trilateral talks in Washington next week.
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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday there was still time to reach a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians by the end of 2008.

Rice said the trilateral peace talks next week between the United States, Israel and the Palestinian Authority should be closed to offer the best hope of progress.

Rice said the latest round of talks which began in Annapolis in the United States in November 2007 had laid a "firm foundation on which these two parties can finally end their conflict."

"There is still time for them, in accordance with the Annapolis, to reach agreement by the end of the year and we will keep working towards that goal," Rice told a news conference in Perth in western Australia on Friday.

The United States revived Palestinian statehood negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians at a conference in Annapolis, Maryland, last November, with the hope of completing a deal by the time President George W. Bush leaves office.

But disputes over settlement expansion in the West Bank land, the
corruption scandal involving Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinan leader Mahmoud Abbas' own political troubles, and security issues have all undercut U.S. efforts.

Rice plans to host peace talks between chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia and his Israeli partner, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, in Washington on July 30.

Rice said the Washington talks should remain confidential, adding that the most successful peace talks between Israel and Palestine occurred in Oslo and nobody even knew they were talking.

"We won't be providing details of what goes on in the trilateral. The Israelis and Palestinians have their first serious peace process in seven years and they are discussing very sensitive and difficult issues," said Rice.

"I think they are wise to negotiate seriously, to work with each other to see if they can overcome differences, without having a daily accounting of how well they are doing or how badly, or who is up and who is down," she said.

"The work now is to keep pressing ahead, but pressing ahead in a way that preserves the workability of this process and that really means preserving the confidentiality of this process."

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      1.   Rice and Covert negotiaitions 11:21  |  Allan Leibler 25/07/08
      2.   A Most beautiful Christmas 12:38  |  Shimon Cleopas 25/07/08
      3.   deal 13:12  |  colin 25/07/08
      4.   INDONESIA WILL SUPPORT 13:29  |  indrajaya 25/07/08
      5.   I hope they declare statehood. 13:54  |  POP 25/07/08
      6.   Not a new idea or action 13:56  |  Linichka 25/07/08
      7.   Palestine has more right to independence than Kosovo. 14:00  |  Michael 25/07/08
      8.   #4 14:00  |  Farmer 25/07/08
      9.   "Highway to hell" 14:02  |  AliciaYasmeen 25/07/08
      10.   Again? They did that before in 1988 14:11  |  Realist 25/07/08
      11.   #4 14:12  |  Michael 25/07/08
      12.   Again? 14:35  |  Conroy 25/07/08
      13.   no problem... just don`t forget Jerusalem belongs to Israel 14:46  |  Joey 25/07/08
      14.   Is this going to be their second third or fourth declaration ? 14:48  |  Sam 25/07/08
      15.   Go on then 14:53  |  Lee 25/07/08
      16.   #7 Lee, they already did 14:59  |  Conroy 25/07/08
      17.   Brilliant! 15:01  |  Ramius 25/07/08
      18.   The US wont back it & without them neither will the UN 15:07  |  zionist forever 25/07/08
      19.   best thing that could happen 15:29  |  Jeff 25/07/08
      20.   The peace efforts should be backed with all mights 15:50  |  Chris 25/07/08
      21.   Oh no, not this crap again 15:53  |  Ramzi, a Palestinian 25/07/08
      22.   This is very funny--they rejected statehood in 1948 15:54  |  IW 25/07/08
      23.   just do it- damn it 16:18  |  sst 25/07/08
      24.   Dumb Idea 16:25  |  Mark of Lewiston 25/07/08
      25.   Palestinians already have statehood in Jordan 16:30  |  Great White North 25/07/08
      26.   They should declare a State! 16:36  |  Arie 25/07/08
      27.   Ummm this is supposed to be a bad thing? 16:56  |  Robert 25/07/08
      28.   Supporting the Palestinian war against the Jewish state 17:09  |  Jean Van Daem 25/07/08
      29.   people identifying with color iniquity 17:15  |  montgomery rosen 25/07/08
      30.   To Allan Leibler # 1 - Sheer Desperation..... 17:19  |  Dagma 25/07/08
      31.   Unilateral undertakings would be too complicated...better 17:19  |  Smadar 25/07/08
      32.   i guess that solves the Jerusalem status 17:20  |  Richard S 25/07/08
      33.   ramzi, a palestinian 17:24  |  alan 25/07/08
      34.   Allan Leibler #1: covert negotiations are allright - 17:24  |  ivo 25/07/08
      35.   indrajaya 4 17:26  |  alan 25/07/08
      36.   Real Effort 17:37  |  Matthew Houston 25/07/08
      37.   Ramius #12: where are you at? 17:39  |  ivo 25/07/08
      38.   Unilateral declaration of Statehood. 18:01  |  David Nigel Braham 25/07/08
      39.   This should have been done Years ago 18:05  |  ID 25/07/08
      40.   Please, please, please, please declare the state already! 18:10  |  JP 25/07/08
      41.   Callinmg Yourself A Kangaroo Doesn`t Make You One 18:11  |  Yishai Kohen 25/07/08
      42.   30 Dagma - Desperately Trying to Stave off Inevitable 18:14  |  Mark of Lewiston 25/07/08
      43.   Very interesting. But why should they be COVERT 18:15  |  The Threadill 25/07/08
      44.   Oslo a failure? 18:44  |  Brooke 25/07/08
      45.   Joey - who on earth told you Jerusalem belongs to Israel? 18:58  |  Palestinian Brit 25/07/08
      46.   Better Ideas 19:07  |  Ibrahim 25/07/08
      47.   WooHoo! Unilateral move! Do it! Is that a threat or a promise? 19:15  |  Dr. L. Brnd 25/07/08
      48.   statehood 19:30  |  Ralph 25/07/08
      49.   What a joke! And the joke is on the PA? 19:41  |  MichaelF 25/07/08
      50.   #31 Smadar 19:45  |  Malone 25/07/08
      51.   The Man with the Vowel Problem`s worries about Israel # 47 19:54  |  Clickfool 25/07/08
      52.   ARAFAT SAID SOMETHING LIKE THIS AT 1996 19:54  |  indrajaya 25/07/08
      53.   Ibrahim-Jews want acceptable agreement and ZERO violence 19:58  |  Sam 25/07/08
      54.   Good idea 20:03  |  Yonatan 25/07/08
      55.   ONE STATE IS THE ONLY SOLUTION 20:32  |  JH 25/07/08
      56.   47 What are you a Doctor of L. Brnd? 20:34  |  Michael 25/07/08
      57.   Threadill #43: covert just means they`re not open to the press & 20:34  |  ivo 25/07/08
      58.   Hail Mary pass for Condi Rice, or: Wishful Thinking 20:45  |  Tosefta 25/07/08
      59.   Indra 20:57  |  Linichka 25/07/08
      60.   YES, MY BROTHERS; DECLARE STATEHOOD 20:59  |  Muhammud al-Swain 25/07/08
      61.   Palestinian Brit of Beit Jala, Gilo, Jerusalem 21:04  |  Absolute Israel 25/07/08
      62.   Yishai Kohen of YeShA, Israel @#41 21:09  |  Akiva P 25/07/08
      63.   Recognition by Russia and China 21:11  |  oetis 25/07/08
      64.   the slimy Abbas is posturing! He is in deep trouble already,with 21:13  |  lakshmi 25/07/08
      65.   #55 ONE STATE !? Where`s that worked? 21:21  |  Roger 25/07/08
      66.   Sam is dictating .... 21:22  |  Ibrahim 25/07/08
      67.   Declar statehood - but be prepared! 21:25  |  Mike 25/07/08
      68.   Brooke #44: about Oslo - 21:30  |  ivo 25/07/08
      69.   Absolute Rubbish - No 59 21:45  |  Palestinian Brit 25/07/08
      70.   #67 Mike 21:47  |  tad chase