Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh today met in his office in Ramallah the European Special Envoy for the Middle East Peace Process, Sven Koopmans, where they discussed ways to revive the deadlocked Mideast political process and protect the two-state solution. The meeting was held in the presence of the European Union Representative to the State of Palestine, Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff. "There is an urgent need to move immediately to protect the two-state solution at a time the Israeli government is pushing the Palestinian Authority to the brink of collapse and destroying the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state by intensifying settlements, seizing lands, continuing incursions into cities, villages and refugee camps, and controlling the borders, crossings and natural resources," said Shtayyeh. The Prime Minister heard from Koopmans about his efforts to revive the Arab Peace Initiative and put it on the table to serve as a basis for a permanent solution, and engaging different international parties. He praised the constructive efforts led by European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to revive the political process, stressing that the European Union and Palestine stand together for peace and justice toward ending the occupation, establishing an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital and the right of return for refugees. Shtayyeh reiterated his request for the European Union to put pressure on Israel to enable the Palestinian Authority to hold elections in Jerusalem, stressing that elections in Palestine are a national priority and a gateway to ending the division, and a strategy to preserve the political system by holding them in all governorates, including Jerusalem, which is a political issue, not a technical one.
Source: En - Palestine news & Information Agency - WAFA