Israel would respond if Palestinians proceed with premier Salam Fayyad's plan to declare an independent state in two years, regardless of the state of peace talks, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Middle East envoy Tony Blair and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana Monday, according to dpa. Lieberman, an outspoken skeptic of the possible success of any Israeli-Palestinian peace process, said "a positive dynamic" had to be created between both sides, without any commitment to target dates for an overall arrangement, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. Such deadlines, Lieberman said, had in the past led to "disappointment and frustration, which led to the outbreak of conflict between the two sides." Fayyad said last Tuesday he intends creating all the institutions of statehood so that a Palestinian state can come into being in two years, even if peace talks with Israel have led nowhere. Solana said the EU supports Fayyad's vision of an independent Palestinian state that could be established within two years. At a news conference after an hour-long meeting with Fayyad in Ramallah, Solana said that "we support the Fayyad plan. It is very good and it shows the fact that the Palestinian government is functioning." Fayyad part criticized Israeli officials for downplaying his plan. "Establishing the state and its institutions is a Palestinian responsibility," he told the news conference. "We are interested in this project and we are working towards implementing it." Responding to Lieberman's criticism, Fayyad said that "if this was a unilateral act, then it is a positive unilateral act, which aims at ending the (Israeli) occupation." Earlier, Solana told reporters in Jerusalem that a deal over a total halt to Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank could be finalized by the start of the United Nations General Assembly in September. US President Barack Obama has demanded that Israel halt completely all settlement construction in the occupied West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will build no new settlements, but insists on the right to continue with construction inside existing ones,to accommodate population expansion, so-called "natural growth." Talks between Israeli and US officials to hammer out a deal on the issue are continuing, but Palestinians have said they will not renew suspended peace negotiations unless the US demand is met in full. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has also indicated he will not meet Netanyahu unless there is a settlement construction halt. However, Solana said Monday that "the positions are getting closer," and he hoped "to arrive at one agreement sufficiently constructive" for a meeting to be held between Netanyahu and Abbas. Solana said the EU was in agreement with the US on the settlement issue. "We move on the same basis. The EU has always said and in a very clear way, that a freeze of settlements is a fundamental element," he said. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians were suspended late last year, as Israel entered into an election period. The talks have not been renewed.
