Excluding East Jerusalem from settlement halt "major issue": Fayyad

Nov 25, 2009, 12:26 GMT

Ramallah - Excluding occupied East Jerusalem from any possible temporary Israel settlement construction freeze is a major issue for Palestinians, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Wednesday.

Reacting to reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends announcing a 10-month suspension on Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank, Fayyad told foreign correspondents in Ramallah that such a move would be 'difficult' for Palestinians, since 'a moratorium is not a long-term freeze.'

However, the freeze will not be implemented in East Jerusalem which Israel captured along with the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East War.

Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, but Israel says it is part of its united capital.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has made a complete Israel settlement construction halt a prerequisite for resuming peace talks. Netanyahu however has ruled out including East Jerusalem in any settlement freeze.

Peace talks, which were suspended one year ago as Israel began an election campaign, have not been resumed.

Palestinian officials said recently that as a result of frustration with the stalemate, they would ask for international support, including from the United Nations, for a unilateral declaration of independence.

However Fayyad said Wednesday that this was not currently on the agenda.

'We should reinforce the diplomatic process and not substitute for it,' he said.

'Our hope is to have the peace process resumed as soon as possible,' he said. 'If we are not moving and there is not a serious attempt, then that is not helpful for everyone.'

Palestinians, he said, did not want peace talks to resume 'for the sake of it.'

'We want to see talks strong enough and capable enough to deliver the goods. Our aim is not self autonomy under occupation, but er are looking for what the Road Map (peace plan) described as an independent, viable Palestinian state,' he said.