Erekat: No need to declare Palestine a state, it already is one

There is no need to declare a Palestinian state, as Palestine has already been legally defined as a state since 2012, chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat tells Ynet news.

“There’s no declaration, we don’t need a declaration,” Erekat says. “Our legal status is that we are a state under occupation. Resolution 67/19 of 2012 of the [United Nations] General Assembly specified the geographic location of the State of Palestine as the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem and gave us the status of observer state or non-member state.”

Erekat’s comments follow Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh’s remarks in Ramallah on Tuesday, where he stated that the Palestinian Authority would transition into a state if Israel proceeded with its plan to annex parts of the West Bank.

“Those who speak of declaring a state don’t know what they are talking about,” Erekat says.

— Aaron Boxerman