The Jerusalem Post
April 13, 2011 - 12:00am
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=216395


Quartet envoy Tony Blair was set to present a report in Brussels on Wednesday endorsing a future Palestinian state, the London Times reported.

"Palestinian state-building under the Palestinian Authority and [Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam] Fayyad is a bright light among a lot of diplomatic darkness," Blair told the London Times. "It shows what can be done; how the Palestinians are able to govern a state and therefore the vital importance of re-energizing the political process. Palestinian state-building is also an important factor in addressing Israel's real security concerns."

Blair's declaration was planned as part of a meeting of Palestinian donor nations in Brussels on Wednesday.

The UN also recently issued a similar report. On Tuesday, the office of UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Robert Serry declared the PA has maintained sufficient governmental functions to establish a state.

Serry praised Fayyad and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a statement accompanying the report.

"This is a decisive period," he said, warning that progress could be retarded or even unravelled without more Israeli cooperation and a return to negotiations.

Fayyad will be present at the conference and was expected to present facts and figures to show how his Palestinian Authority has used hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign assistance over the past two years to create justice, education, energy, health, water, security and housing services.




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