Azerbaijan, Baku, May 21 / Trend A. Tagiyeva /
The Israeli government is not ready to accept the Palestinian side's conditions to launch the peace talks. So, the U.S. government's statements will not affect launching the negotiations in the Middle East, the expert of the Palestinian Research Center Mahmood Souid said.
"Israel will not negotiate on the Palestinian side's terms," Souid said over phone from Beirut.
Israel's return to the 1967 borders threatens the catastrophe to the state, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, commenting on the proposal of U.S President Barack Obama made in Washington earlier.
The head of the Israeli government said that the borders, that existed before the 1967 Six Day War, can not be protected from attack now.
President Obama earlier said that Israel must return to the borders that existed before 1967. He stressed that Palestine and Israel must resume peace talks and solve the border issue. President Obama said that the Palestinian people must have clear borders with Israel, Jordan and Egypt, as well as to use their right to self-government.
President Obama said that Israel has the right to self-defense. The liberation of the "occupied" territories must be gradual. "The Palestinians themselves must ensure security on their lands," Obama said.
The expert said that the factor of the recent reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas does not affect the Israeli side's decision on the peace talks.
On May 14, the head of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas said that he is ready to resign if Palestine becomes an independent state. He also stressed that if Palestine fails to make progress in the talks with Israel, its authorities will appeal to the UN.
The head of the Palestinian Authority Abbas announced in early May about reaching an agreement with Hamas, which envisages the formation of the single government and the presidential elections in 2011.
The expert also stressed that Obama's statement on Palestine's return to the 1967 borders is a positive factor, as before none of the U.S. presidents made these statements.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which began in 1948 after the independence of Israel was declared, continues up to now. As a result of the 1967 war, Israel occupied the remaining territory of Palestine (West Bank and Gaza Strip). Later, it annexed the rest part of Jerusalem.
According to the Palestinian side's conditions, Israel must allow an unlimited number of Palestinian refugees to return to the West Bank of the Jordan River and recognize Palestine within the 1967 borders to start the peace talks.
Moreover, the authority of the Palestinian administration warned that the Muslim holy places of the Old City in Jerusalem must be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Palestinian administration's government. The Jewish quarter of the Old City and the Western Wall will remain under Israeli protectorate. According to them, the capital of the Palestinian state must be moved to East Jerusalem.
