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| Chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat |
The Palestinian Authority has called for the US recognition of an independent Palestinian state in response to Israel's refusal to stop settlement expansion on the occupied Palestinian territories.
Chief Palestinian Authority (PA) negotiator Saeb Erekat expressed hope on Wednesday that Washington recognizes a free and independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.
Erekat made the remarks after the US admitted that it had failed to convince Israel to renew its partial settlement freeze in the occupied West Bank, which is the Palestinian side's main precondition for returning to talks.
"We hope that the American administration would recognize the Palestinian state within the 1967 borders as a response to Israel's settlement diktats and other unilateral measures," Erekat was quoted as saying by AFP in Cairo.
"Decisions are needed and if the United States wants to safeguard the two-state solution it must recognize the Palestinian state within the 1967 borders," he added.
Over the course of the past week, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay have all sent letters to Acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas, declaring that they recognize a free and independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.
More than 100 states around the world recognize Palestine.
Israel has protested the recent recognitions, claiming that the move is against the spirit of the Middle East talks and that a Palestinian state should only be established through dialogue.
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