World must keep pressure on Israel after truce: Palestinian PM

World must keep pressure on Israel after truce: Palestinian PM

OSLO
World must keep pressure on Israel after truce: Palestinian PMWorld must keep pressure on Israel after truce: Palestinian PM

The international community will have to maintain pressure on Israel after an hoped-for ceasefire in Gaza so it accepts the creation of a Palestinian state, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa said on Wednesday.

A ceasefire agreement appears close following a recent round of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying late on Jan. 14 that a deal to end the 15-month war was "on the brink."

"The ceasefire we're talking about ... came about primarily because of international pressure. So pressure does pay off," Mustafa said before a conference in Oslo.

Israel must "be shown what's right and what's wrong, and that the veto power on peace and statehood for Palestinians will not be accepted and tolerated any longer," he told reporters.

He was speaking at the start of the third meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, gathering representatives from some 80 states and organisations in Oslo.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, the host of the meeting, said a "ceasefire is the prerequisite for peace, but it is not peace."

"We need to move forward now towards a two-state solution. And since one of the two states exists, which is Israel, we need to build the other state, which is Palestine," he added.

According to analysts, the two-state solution appears more remote than ever.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, firmly supported by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, is opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state. Israel is not represented at the Oslo meeting.

Norway angered Israel when it recognised the Palestinian state, together with Spain and Ireland, last May, a move later followed by Slovenia.

In a nod to history, on Wednesday's meeting was held in the Oslo City Hall, where Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994.

The then-head of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, Israeli prime minister and his foreign minister were honoured for signing the Oslo accords a year earlier, which laid the foundation for Palestinian autonomy with the goal of an independent state.

The Palestinian prime minister said it “will not be acceptable” for any entity other than the Palestinian Authority to run the Gaza Strip in the future.

Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007, confining the Western-backed Palestinian Authority’s limited self-rule to parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The U.S. has called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern both the West Bank and Gaza ahead of eventual statehood, which the Israeli government opposes.

“While we’re waiting for the ceasefire, it’s important to stress that it will not be acceptable for any entity to govern Gaza Strip but the legitimate Palestinian leadership and the government of the State of Palestine," Mustafa said.

He added that “any attempt to consolidate the separation between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, or creating transitional entities, will be rejected.”

Meanwhile, Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said. Mediators from the U.S. and Qatar said Israel and the Palestinian militant group were at the closest point yet to sealing a deal to bring them a step closer to ending 15 months of war.