Palestinian state will be founded by 2011, says Palestinian PM, relying on "international consensus

Israel-PalestinianA Palestinian state will be founded by 2011 with or without Israeli negotiations, relying on "international consensus," says the Palestinian prime minister.

Ynetnews reported on Wednesday that Salam Fayyad rejects the Israeli position that a Palestinian state can be founded only through negotiations.

Fayyad said, "We demand the implication of international law to define ourselves. We hear the Israelis, but they are not the only players in this arena."

Fayyad further added that the state declaration plan has passed from the idea stage to the probability stage and is now on its way to becoming a reality.

According to Ynetnews, he cited a number of significant achievements of the Palestinian government, among them security in the West Bank territories under its command.

Fayyad said, "Who would have believed in 2007 that we would succeed in reaching all of the security achievements we have made in the past two years. The success has increased our self-assurance that we are capable of achieving additional goals."

It was further noted by him that he did not rule out negotiations with Israel but reiterated his unilateral option.

According to Fayyad, "Our aspiration is for negotiations to accelerate the establishment of a Palestinian state, but if this doesn't work out we will aspire for our achievements and positive actions to impose this. We see an international consensus on our position and our efforts." (With Inputs from Agencies)