Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres on Thursday said he is in favor of the creation of a provisional Palestinian state, an idea floated by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Local media quoted Peres as saying that the provisional state idea is "more or less" like a concept he worked out with Palestinian negotiator and Parliament Speaker Abu Ala (Ahmed Qurei).
According to the Peres-Abu Ala plan worked out months ago amid the Israel-Palestinian tensions, Israel would recognize a Palestinian state beginning with the territories now under Palestinian control, that is about 40 percent of the West Bank and two thirds of the Gaza Strip.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told the London-based Arab newspaper Al-Hayat Wednesday that while U.S. President George W. Bush was not backtracking from his goal of an independent Palestine, in order to achieve that goal, it was possible that a "temporary state" must be established as a transitional step.
Also according to reports reaching here, a senior Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that if the Palestinians received guarantees that the final borders would include virtually all of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, they would accept the proposal of a provisional state.
(Xinhua News Agency June 14, 2002)
