Nomark Ministries

Birth Certificate for a Palestinian State

The Ad-hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) on Palestine met in Brussels on Wednesday, 13 April, and acknowledged that the "Palestinian Authority is above the threshold of a functioning state."

The committee endorsed a United Nations report which says that in six key areas - rule of law, the economy, education, health, social protection and infrastructure - in the West Bank "government functions are now sufficient for a functioning government of a state."

The AHLC is an international body comprised of the EU, US, Israel, Canada, Norway, Russia, four Arab countries, the UN, the World Bank and the IMF.

"We can today conclude that the Palestinian Authority is above the threshold of a functioning state," Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store said after chairing the committee meeting, comprised of donor countries to the Palestinians.

"It amounts to a birth certificate for the reality of Palestinian statehood," PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told reporters after the talks in Brussels.

The endorsement is a positive one for the Palestinian Authority. Rumors have been swirling that the PA will be asking the UN to unilaterally declare an independent Palestinian state, within the 1967 borders, at the UN assembly meeting in September.

Peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians have come to a standstill as of late. Since September 2010 Israel has approved 1,700 Jewish settlements and continues to the practice of Palestinian home demolitions and evictions, especially East Jerusalem.

Speaking after the event, Fayyad said: "This very important meeting effectively recognised the reality of a state of Palestine being projected on the territory occupied in 1967, which amounts effectively to a birth certificate for the reality of Palestinian statehood."

"We are not looking for another declaration of statehood, nor are we looking for a virtual state, what we are looking for, again, is a genuine, fully sovereign State of Palestine," including East Jerusalem which Israel captured in 1967, Fayyad said.

In recent months, the World Bank, the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have certified that Fayyad's state-building plans are on track for completion in mid-2011, reported the Israeli news daily Haaretz.

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton added on Wednesday the EU had earmarked 300 million euros ($433 million) in 2011 to further support Palestinian state-building.

The European Union also announced it a 10-year agreement that will immediately grant duty-free access to produce from the West Bank and the Gaza strip, in further efforts to support Palestinian state building.

The EU said the agreement will apply to "all agricultural products, processed agricultural products and fish and fishery products" except fruit and vegetables, which would be subject to a duty if their price was below a set level.

"Facilitating Palestinian trade is a crucial element of the state building process which the EU is supporting both politically and financially," Ashton said in a statement.

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