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Source: http://www.hudson-ny.org/1981/palestinians-ready-for-statehood
Are the Palestinians Ready for Statehood?
(Hudson Institute-New York) Khaled Abu Toameh - Almost every week, the Palestinian Authority reaffirms its intention to seek the international community's recognition in September of an independent Palestinian state on the 1948 armistice lines. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said there is no point in conducting peace talks with the government of Benjamin Netanyahu because of his refusal to withdraw from "all" the territories that were occupied in 1967. The Palestinian Authority is asking the world to recognize a state on the pre-1967 lines when it has no control over Gaza. Moreover, Abbas does not have a real mandate to strike any deal on behalf of a majority of Palestinians, particularly since his term in office expired in January 2009. Even if the UN does recognize such a state later this year, the reality on the ground will remain unchanged.