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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, November 14, 2001

Palestinian Official Proposes New Idea on Mideast Conflict

A senior Palestinian official Tuesday called on Israel and the Palestinians to seek new ways to resolve the Middle East conflict based on a two-state solution.


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A senior Palestinian official Tuesday called on Israel and the Palestinians to seek new ways to resolve the Middle East conflict based on a two-state solution.

Speaking to foreign reporters in Jerusalem, Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Sari Nusseibeh said the Jewish settlements, the Palestinian refugees and Jerusalem are the three basic hurdles impeding the settlement of the conflict.

Nusseibeh said that "The Palestinians have to realize that it would be a deal-breaker" if they insist on the returning of more than 4 million refugees to inside Israel, where live about 5 million Jews and 1 million Arabs.

To reach a settlement, the Palestinians have to take into account the fact the Israelis will not accept the return of the Palestinian refugees, Nusseibeh said.

He said forgoing the right of return would require reciprocal actions on the part of Israel, which in turn should evacuate the settlers from the Palestinian land.

Nusseibeh said "The Palestinians would not accept a state which itself is actually another Israel," and it is impossible to reach an agreement if Israel wants to keep about 400,000 settlers in the Palestinian land.

The current Palestinian uprising proves the Palestinian demand for "a state in its entirety in the territory captured (by Israel) in the 1967 Middle East War," he added.

The 52-year-old minister said that the ongoing Israeli expansion of settlements and confiscation of Palestinian land have posed the biggest obstacle to the peace prospects.

On the issue of Jerusalem, Nusseibeh said Jerusalem is a very special city and should be solved in a very special manner.

He said Israel should return East Jerusalem, which it captured in the 1967 Mideast War, to the Palestinians, adding it is also important to recognize the emotional ties of the Jews, Muslims and Christians to the Holy city.

He said after more than a year of bloody conflicts, it is imperative to strive for the two-state solution to the conflict.

"Perhaps it is the last chance to do so," because there is a growing "disinterest" in a two-state solution, namely a Palestine alongside Israel.

"Many Palestinians are now wondering if it is better to do away with the idea of a state and go back to a more primary demand: the return of the 1948 refugees," referring to the Palestinians driven out of home due to the Israeli Independence War in 1948.

To ultimately solve the conflict, the minister said both sides should go directly to the "end game" to define their ultimate goals and principles first, and then come back to implement the components of the agreement.

Otherwise, he argued, it would be difficult to implement the Tenet ceasefire plan or the Mitchell recommendations designed to end the current year-long conflicts.

He also called for open-hearted discussions among Israelis and the Palestinians of ideas for solving the conflict.

He also said that the ongoing bloody conflicts, which have claimed the lives of more than 700 Palestinians and nearly 200 Israelis, are leading no where because neither Israel nor the Palestinians can impose their will on the other side by force.

Nusseibeh, also the president of the Palestinian Al Quds University in Jerusalem, has been appointed by Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to replace late Fasail Husseini, who died of heart attack on May 31, as minister of Jerusalem affairs.

His recent call on the Palestinians to forgo the right of return in their peace plan has drawn wide attention. It is seen as efforts on the Palestinian side to prepare a peace initiative of their own.






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