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M. Continuo

Abbas cool to unilateral Palestinian independence


    (Adds Hamas comments)

    By Mohammed Assadi and Ali Sawafta

    RAMALLAH, West Bank, Feb 20 - Palestinian President MahmoudAbbas ruled out on Wednesday any unilateral declaration ofstatehood in the near future, responding to an aide's call totake the step if peace talks with Israel continued to falter.

    Abbas made the remarks a day after he and Israeli PrimeMinister Ehud Olmert met to accelerate U.S.-backed peace talkslaunched at a conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in November.

    "We will pursue negotiations in order to reach a peaceagreement during 2008 that includes the settlement of all finalstatus issues including Jerusalem," Abbas said in a statement.

    "But if we cannot achieve that, and we reach a deadlock, wewill go back to our Arab nation to take the necessary decisionat the highest level," he said, without mentioning any options.

    Earlier, aide Yasser Abed Rabbo said Palestinians shoulddeclare independence unilaterally "if things are not going inthe direction of (Israel) actually halting settlementactivities, if things are not going in the direction ofcontinuous and serious negotiations".

    The peace talks, which Washington hopes will yield astatehood deal this year, have been stalled by disputes overIsraeli plans to build new homes on occupied land and Olmert'sinsistence on putting off talks about the future of Jerusalem.

    Abbas's authority has also been limited to the occupiedWest Bank since Hamas Islamists, who oppose his peace effortswith Israel, seized the Gaza Strip in June. A Hamas spokesmansaid Abed Rabbo's suggestion was not worth listening to.

    "Our Palestinian people are not in need of more failedexperiences from some failed people," said Sami Abu Zuhri.

    CARAVANS

    In a move that could further anger Palestinians, Israelianti-settlement group Peace Now said on Wednesday right-wingactivists had placed 27 caravans in the West Bank despite apledge by Olmert at Annapolis to halt settlement activity.

    Peace Now said activists were circumventing a ban on newsettlement construction by putting the caravans on a site nearthe Eli settlement north of the West Bank town of Ramallah.

    "Olmert talked about a settlement freeze at Annapolis butit's all blah blah because we see construction all over theWest Bank," said Hagit Ofran, head of monitoring at Peace Now.

    Olmert and Abbas agreed at Annapolis to abide by a 2003U.S. peace "road map" which requires Israel to halt settlementactivity and the Palestinians to rein in militants. Each sideaccuses the other of failing to meet those commitments.

    A spokesman at Israel's military-run Civil Administrationdepartment, which oversees the West Bank, could not be reachedfor comment.

    Abed Rabbo drew an analogy between the Palestinians andKosovo, which declared independence from Serbia on Sunday.

    "Kosovo is not better than us. We deserve independence evenbefore Kosovo, and we ask for the backing of the United Statesand the European Union for our independence," Abed Rabbo said.

    But fellow negotiator Saeb Erekat said the PalestineLiberation Organisation had declared independence in 1988.

    "Now we need real independence, not a declaration. We needreal independence by ending the occupation. We are not Kosovo.We are under Israeli occupation and for independence we need toacquire independence," Erekat said.

    (Additional reporting by Wafa Amr in Ramallah, RebeccaHarrison in Jerusalem and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza; Writing byJeffrey Heller and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem; Editing byDominic Evans)