US House opposes Palestinian state
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Washington: The US House of Representatives late on Wednesday approved a measure condemning unilateral measures to declare or recognize a Palestinian state, and backing a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The House measure comes after Brazil, and later Argentina and Uruguay, in early December recognized a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, the boundaries that existed before Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The resolution, introduced by Democrat Howard Berman, reaffirms the 'strong support' in the lower chamber of the US Congress 'for a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in two states, a democratic, Jewish state of Israel and a viable, democratic Palestinian state'.
The text also 'reaffirms its strong opposition to any attempt to establish or seek recognition of a Palestinian state outside of an agreement negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians'.
It urges Palestinian leaders to 'cease all efforts at circumventing the negotiation process' and calls on foreign governments 'not to extend such recognition'.
One of the co-sponsors of the House measure was Republican Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the incoming House Foreign Affairs Committee, who earlier condemned moves by the South American countries to recognise an independent Palestinian state.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said that such recognition by the South Americans was 'counter-productive' to achieving Middle East peace.
The European Union on Monday stopped short of outright recognition of a Palestinian state despite mounting pressure to break the Middle East impasse, but did reaffirm its readiness to recognise such a state at an 'appropriate' time.
Direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians collapsed after Washington admitted it had failed to secure Israel's agreement to a new freeze on settlement building, the Palestinian condition for continuing to negotiate.
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