PLO chief: PA planning to declare state

Ma'an
The Palestinian Authority is mobilizing international support for declaring statehood, chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Saturday.

"The idea is clear and understandable," Erekat told the Arabic-language daily newspaper Al-Ayyam. "Now we mobilize."

Palestinians will bring the issue to a vote before the United Nations Security Council, which would declare a Palestinian state on the 4 June 1967 border with Israel, he explained. He called the initiative a response to Israel's policies, which would send a clear message that "settlements and other unilateral actions are null and void and do not establish rights or territory." Full story