PLO prepares to decide future Palestinian state

A senior official in Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said on Thursday that the PLO has prepared a plan that decides the future of the Palestinian territories.
Ahmed Majdalani, member in the PLO executive committee, told Xinhua in a special interview that the plan aims at gathering large international consensus to find a permanent political solution to the Palestinian cause.
"This solution is based on drawing the borders of the independent Palestinian state and sets up a timetable for ending the Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian territories, which started in 1967," said Majdalani.
He added that it is a political plan to win a broad Arab and international consensus for a political move that aims at holding the international community and the United Nations responsible for ending the Israeli occupation.
Meanwhile, an official speaking on condition of anonymity told Xinhua that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas formed an official Palestinian delegation that will soon head to Washington to debate with the Americans the outlines of the political plan for the future Palestinian state.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Sabe Erekat is expected to chair the Palestinian delegation which will also include Majed Farraj, chief of the Palestinian security intelligence in the West Bank. The Palestinians will propose one-month talks on drawing the borders of the future Palestinian state.
"In case of issuing a UN Security Council resolution on ending the Israeli occupation and establishing a Palestinian state on 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital, the Palestinians will have the other choice of joining all the international treaties and agencies," said Majdalani.
He asserted that the Palestinian leadership had received positive signals from Arabs as well as other countries like Russia, several European and Latin American nations, saying they will support the Palestinian move.
Meanwhile, Wassel Abu Yousef, another PLO executive committee member, told Xinhua that the Palestinian plan and the coming steps "will be started soon," adding that "the first step will be asking the international community to help ending the Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian territories."
Earlier on Thursday, a senior official unveiled that the Palestinian leadership approved a political plan that consists of four steps to ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Nabil Shaath, a member in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah Party's Central Committee, said in a press statement that the 4-step plan was decided after an Egyptian brokered cease-fire deal was reached in Cairo on Tuesday.
"The upcoming stage will witness four steps: the first is to submit an application to the United Nations Security Council on Sept. 15 demanding a 'timetable' for Israel's withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territory."
Shaath said in the statement that the Palestinians will apply to the UN Security Council backed by the Arab League, the European Union and Russia, adding that "the Arab League will convene in Cairo on September to discuss this issue."
He noted that "this won't be negotiable," adding that "but in case our request is rejected, we will go to the international anti- crimes and oblige Israel to respect Geneva Conventions to sue the Israelis, mainly Netanyahu and Yaalon."
Shaath was referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, who were leading a large-scale offensive on the Gaza Strip that lasted for 50 days and killed more than 2,100 Palestinians.
Shaath said the second step is related to activating the Palestinian unity government with the full participation of Hamas to facilitate the process of reconstructing the Gaza Strip.
"The third step is to resume the talks in Cairo to agree on the mechanism of ending the (Gaza) blockade and provide free access of movements for goods and individuals," said the veteran Palestinian leader.
Shaath said the fourth step is to organize the international donors' conference due to be held in Cairo in September for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.