Haaretz reports: “Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ruled out a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, saying that there was no possibility of having an independent state without Israel’s collaboration, Qatar-based news channel Al-Jazeera reported.

‘At this stage there is no option to declare a Palestinian state without Israel’s collaboration,’ Abbas said in an interview aired on Al-Jazeera. ‘A Palestinian state will be established only with an agreement from Israel.’

Abbas warned however, that there would be dangerous repercussions if there was no progress made on the matter by September. ‘The results could be devastating,’ Abbas said, adding that ‘it could lead to an Intifada or a popular Palestinian uprising.’

Abbas also criticized United States President Barack Obama for his failure to put an end to settlement construction and resolve the Middle East crisis. ‘They could have done a lot more, but they failed,’ Abbas said about the U.S…” (We await this decision. Peace will come but last for a mere 42 months – Daniel 7:27. The world will rejoice over the negotiated peace pact but it will quickly end – Jeremiah 6:14, 8:11; I Thessalonians 5:3. See the pressure forced upon Israel in the following four reports.)

Haaretz reports: “Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused the United States of lagging in its commitment to seeing the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Abbas told Al-Jazeera that the Palestinians would agree to return to peace talks with Israel only if the United States agreed to recognize a state within 1967 borders and adhere to security accords reached during the Bush administration.

Fielding criticism to the same regard in Doha, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters that the U.S. was determined to work toward achieving a separate state for the Palestinians.

‘We have spent a lot of time and we will continue to spend a lot of time working to build enough confidence on both sides so that they can make decisions that will by necessity mean compromises,’ Clinton said on the sidelines of a regional development conference.

Clinton also called on Arab states to join the U.S. in asking ‘what more can we do to help the Palestinian people continue their state-building efforts,’ which she called ‘a very positive development of the last several years.’…”

Haaretz reports: “The leaders of Jordan and Russia vowed to work together to achieve an independent Palestinian state and boosted cooperation in the energy sector.

‘I have told my Palestinian friends that the eventual target will be the establishment of a modern, unified and sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital,’ Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in remarks before starting talks with King Abdullah II.

Medvedev visited the West Bank town of Jericho, where he met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and called on Israel to stop building more settlements in Palestinian territories.

‘Russia, as one of the sponsors of the Middle East process, will remain committed to the achievement of durable peace and is aware of its special responsibility in this respect,’ Medvedev said.

Abdullah, for his part, expressed appreciation for Moscow’s ‘important and pivotal role, as well as its support for efforts aimed at achieving the two-state solution’…”

Voice of America News reports: “Peru has become the latest Latin American country to recognize an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.

Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde announced the decision, but did not detail which borders Peru recognizes for the state.

He also said Peru maintains there should be an Israeli state with secure borders.

Brazil and several other Latin American nations have said they would recognize a Palestinian state based on borders established before the 1967 Middle East war, when Israel gained control of East Jerusalem and other Palestinian territory…”

YnetNews.com reports: “Cyprus has recognized a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, Ramallah-based news agency WAFA reported.

According to the report, President Dimitris Christofias sent his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas a letter saying Cyprus recognizes a Palestinian state. In the letter, WAFA reported, Christofias ensured ‘historic deep relations between the two countries’ and said he hoped the region would witness a ‘peaceful solution ensuring an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.’

The Israeli Foreign Ministry is checking the report, but for now it believes it is false.

‘We have no knowledge of any decision by Cyprus that is not in line with the European Union’s position, which calls on the sides to solve the conflict through direct and indirect negotiations while avoiding unilateral measures,’ Foreign Ministry official Yossi Levy said.

According to the Palestinian report, Christofias stressed that his government would not recognize any unilateral steps – including in Jerusalem – and said ‘settlements in the occupied territories constitute a serious obstacle to a comprehensive peace agreement in the Middle East.’…”