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JERUSALEM : Israel on Monday warned Palestinians against seeking recognition of an independent state, while dismissing the move as a political manoeuvre amid frustration over the stalled peace process.
"Any unilateral action will undo the framework of past accords and lead to unilateral actions from Israel," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late on Sunday.
"There is no substitute for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority," he added.
His comments came after the Palestinians said they intended to ask the UN Security Council to recognise an independent Palestinian state as US efforts to relaunch peace talks flounder.
Israeli ministers on Monday said the Palestinian move was a political manoeuvre amid a widening rift between the two main Palestinian factions and mounting frustration over the impasse in the Middle East peace process.
Environment Minister Gilad Erdan, of the premier's rightwing Likud party, told public radio that the move was "a storm in a teacup, an internal manoeuvre aimed at boosting the image of Mahmud Abbas."
And he repeated a threat by another minister on Sunday that if the Palestinians proceed with their move, Israel should annex the parts of the occupied West Bank that house major Jewish settlement blocs.
While dismissing the "empty" rhetoric on both sides, Industry Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer of the centre-left Labour said the Palestinian move "betrays the frustration of the Palestinian population which sees no end to an occupation that has lasted for 43 years."
"All those who are speaking about annexation are speaking empty words and all those who are speaking of independence are also speaking empty words," he told army radio. "It's a game of ping pong."
Israeli analyst Yossi Alpher echoed the sentiment.
"The Palestinians might be seeking new concessions ahead of the renewal of peace negotiations, but there is no doubt that they are expressing their frustration," he said.
Chief negotiator Saeb Erakat insisted that the Palestinian side was serious, saying that he had met with European Union diplomats to ask them to back the move to the UN Security Council.
"We asked their countries to back our initiative," he said. "The initial response of the EU is positive. I didn't hear any opposition or concern from the EU members."
US Senator Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, said that Washington was likely to veto any attempt to bring the issue before the Security Council, which he branded as "a waste of time."
"I hope and presume that the United States would veto such an attempt when and if it ever came to the Security Council," he said in a press conference in Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said that Netanyahu's comments showed that "Israel is looking for pretexts and excuses to oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state."
The move for UN recognition is the latest in a series of options the Palestinians have warned they could take if the Middle East peace process remained stalled.
Others include unilaterally declaring independence, asking the UN to determine final borders of their promised state, dissolving the Palestinian Authority (PA) and seeking equal rights within Israel. France warns against Palestinian declaration
The administration of US President Barack Obama has so far been unable to convince Israelis and Palestinians to resume their peace talks amid deep disagreements on the issue of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.
The Palestinians insist on a freeze of all settlement activity before talks restart, while Israel is offering a temporary and limited ease on construction, saying the issue will be resolved during the negotiations.
- AFP /ls
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