Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of Fatah Central Committee, said Thursday that the Palestinian bid to seek full United Nations membership of a Palestinian state within 1967 borders in September comes in line with international legitimacy resolutions based on UN Partition Resolution 181, and does not contradict resuming negotiations based on ending settlement activities and on the two-state solution. Al-Ahmad, during a political seminar organized by Fatah movement in the German capital, Berlin, said the move to the UN comes as a result of fruitless negotiations with Israel, the halt in the peace process, the growth of Israeli extremism and the right wing, the drop in moderation and the Israeli refusal to recognize a peace partner. He referred to US President Barack Obama's speeches in Cairo and Ankara, where he expressed his support of a Palestinian state and his rejection of continued construction by Israel of new settlements on disputed land. Al-Ahmad also referred to the inability of the Quartet and the UN to make progress on the Palestinian issue, according to a report carried this morning by Palestine News and Information agency "WAFA". He reiterated the Palestinian leadership's persistence in continuing the internal reconciliation and noted positive efforts made towards achieving political and social reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah.
