Fayyad: PA will declare independent state in August 2011

Fayyad: PA will declare independent state in August 2011
By JPOST.COM STAFF
10/28/2010 11:36

Palestinian Authority PM tells Italian newspaper: Israeli "colonies" must end; "the youngest olive trees have deeper roots than the largest Israeli settlement."

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the PA will declare an independent Palestinian state in 2011, while picking olives with a reporter from Italian daily Corriere Della Sera, according to an interview published on Thursday.

"The deadline is next summer, when the Israeli occupation of the West Bank must end," Fayyad said. "In 2011, we will celebrate 66 years of the United Nations and the United Nations will celebrate the birth of our nation."

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Fayyad added that the Palestinians "need to build national institutions in the West Bank and prepare for an independent Palestinian state."

"The people of Gaza must be involved in our national project," Fayyad explained. "There are gaps between us, it's true, but the real gap is the wall that closes off the Strip. Next week, I will try to enter Gaza," he added.

Read the rest of the article on: The Jerusalem Post