Solana urges Israel to accept two-state solution, EU lawmakers to meet PNC in Amman after cutting Gaza visit short

EU's Solana urges Israel to accept two states

Date: 11 / 06 / 2009 Time: 13:14
Bethlehem – Ma’an –

EU Foreign Policy chief Javier Solana urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to commit to the “two state solution” on a visit to Jerusalem on Wednesday.

"I would like to hear a speech in which there's a commitment of the government to the two-state solution, a commitment of the government on the question of settlements and a commitment to re-initiate relations with the Palestinians," Solana told journalists, according to AFP.

Netanyahu is expected to give a speech laying down is policy on peace negotiations on Sunday. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, he is likely to use the language of “two states” but will reject calls for a halt to construction in illegal West Bank settlements.

Solana is also due to hold talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Thursday.

EU lawmakers to meet PNC in Amman after cutting Gaza visit short

Date: 11 / 06 / 2009 Time: 13:50
Bethlehem – Ma’an –

A delegation of 41 European parliament members that cut short a visit to Gaza will meet with officials from the Palestinian National Council (PNC) in Amman on Saturday,

PNC Speaker Salim Al-Za’anoun said that the 15-nation group, led by Italian lawmaker Luisa Morgantini will visit the assembly’s headquarters in the Jordanian capital.

The meeting will tackle bilateral relations and also review the delegation’s brief visit to Gaza this week.

The lawmakers left Gaza on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after they arrived via Egypt. The group visited the destroyed headquarters of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and that of the UN agency UNRWA, both of which were destroyed by Israel in January.

The PNC is a parliamentary assembly representing all Palestinians, both in Palestine and the Diaspora, whereas the PLC is limited to the West Bank and Gaza.

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