Erekat: No freeze? PA to ask world to recognize independent state

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat says that if Israel fails to freeze construction in West Bank settlement by the end of the month, the Palestinian Authority will ask the international community to recognize an independent state within the 1967 borders.

Speaking during a visit to Morocco, Erekat said that "if the American pressure on Israel doesn't bear fruit, our next step will be to ask the UN Security Council to recognize a Palestinian state." (AFP)