Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Tuesday presented a Palestinian Authority plans to create a de facto Palestinian state within two years regardless of the state of peace talks with Israel. “We have decided to be proactive, to expedite the end of the occupation by working very hard to build positive facts on the ground, consistent with having our state emerge as a fact that cannot be ignored. This is our agenda, and we want to pursue it doggedly,” Fayyad told The Times.
Speaking at a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Fayyad said, “The Palestinian government is struggling determinedly against a hostile occupation regime... in order to establish a de facto state apparatus within the next two years.”
“We must confront the whole world with the reality that Palestinians are united and steadfast in their determination to remain on their homeland, end the occupation and achieve their freedom and independence. The world should also know that we are not prepared to continue living under a brutal occupation and siege that flouts not only the law, but also the principles of natural justice and human decency,” he added.
“This government seeks to involve all sectors and segments of society in the national drive to develop and advance our institutions.”
Fayyad continued by saying that his the plan’s priorities included ending economic dependence on Israel and foreign aid, shrinking the size of the government, expanding the use of technology, unifying the legal system and using a performance-based pay system in the public sector.
Fayyad suggested that time for a Palestinian state was running out. “The horizon continues to recede,” he said. “It’s not that we’re at a standstill. It’s not that settlement activity is frozen pending a resolution. Settlement activity continues, wall construction continues, confiscation of Palestinian land continues, home demolitions in Jerusalem continue.” In his words, the plan is “to end the occupation, despite the occupation.”
