Israel warns on Palestinian move of de facto state establishment

JERUSALEM, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Monday that Israel would respond if the Palestinians fulfill the plan to establish a de facto state within two years.

"Palestinians' unilateral initiatives do not contribute to a positive dialogue between the parties," local daily The Jerusalem Post quoted Lieberman as saying when meeting with visiting international Quartet Mideast envoy Tony Blair and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Jerusalem.

"If the unilateral initiative presented by (Palestinian Prime Minister) Salam Fayyad is promoted, Israel will respond," Lieberman said.

Fayyad unveiled last week his government's plan to establish a de facto Palestinian state within two years, without waiting for the results of the peace negotiations with Israel.

The statehood would exist on territories that Israel captured in the 1967 war, with East Jerusalem as its capital, according to the plan.

The declaration of Fayyad's plan comes at a time when peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority were halted due to the Jewish state's refusal to endorse a two-state solution and its continuation of settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Solana expressed optimistic opinion about restarting the Israeli-Palestinian talks, according to another report by Israeli news service Ynet.

He was quoted as saying that Israel is willing to freeze construction in settlements, and an agreement to renew the peace talks may be reached by the opening of UN General Assembly in New York in September.

Reports emerged last week that efforts were underway to hold a three-way meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.