Palestinian PM urges US to draft Mideast peace plan
Fayyad urges US to come up with peace plan, timetable that will put end to 'Jewish settlements and Israeli offensives'; Israel is turning its back on international legitimacy, Palestinian PM says
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad made a fresh appeal on Saturday to the United States for a plan and a timetable aimed at resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
"I call anew on the United States to come up with a plan and a timetable for its application that will contribute to put an end to Jewish settlements and Israeli offensives, and lead to serious negotiations," Fayyad said.
In a speech at the Qalandiya refugee camp he also said that the international community must bear its responsibilities in pushing Israel to respect its peace commitments.
"Israel is turning its back on international legitimacy," he told hundreds of Palestinian refugees in the camp between the West Bank city of Ramallah and Jerusalem.
'Hope for a new era'
Palestinian-Israeli peace talks re-launched at a US-hosted conference in November 2008 have been frozen since the end of 2008.
During a landmark speech in Cairo in June, US President Barack Obama pledged to forge a state for Palestinians and rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to halt West Bank settlement expansion.
At the time Fayyad said he saw "hope" for a new era in the speech.
Last week, Netanyahu invited Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to meet him to restart the stalled peace negotiations.
But the Palestinians have said they will not resume talks unless Israel freezes all Jewish settlement activity in the West Bank in line with US demands.
