Palestine's Ambassador in Ankara Nabil Maarouf stated that he did not believe in Israel's intentions to make peace, explaining that the Palestinian administration participated in negotiations in order to display the government's goodwill to the international community.
Maarouf reminded that the Palestinian government would deal with two key issues - borders and security - during the negotiations between Israel and Palestine, which were once again initiated in the agenda after renewed attempts by the US.
He added:
"We have two major points, the first is borders. In connection with the UN's recognition of Palestine as a state and the two-state solution, we will talk to Israel, and we agreed with the US that the coming state of Palestine should be established along the borders of 1967."
Maarouf said the second point was security, stating "The second important point is security. As you know, the most important point in relations with Israel, or the continuation of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, is the Israeli argument in which they say 'we are trying to ensure the security of Israel'. They are talking about security and saying 'even if you establish a Palestinian state, we have to have an army of soldiers inside the state of Palestine'."
Regarding the proposal on this issue which Palestine has already discussed with the US, Maarouf expressed that, whenever they finally reach a solution with Israel about the establishment of the state of Palestine, Palestinians would never again want to see any Israeli soldiers on Palestine territory. He also stated that Israel's predictable response in this case would be "what about our [Israel's] security?"
Maarouf noted that, just as they had been discussing negotiations with the US, they would welcome an international force in Palestine which would serve as a third party in ensuring security. The ambassador also added that there was a proposal that NATO troops be sent to replace Israeli soldiers, given that Israel did not intend to make peace and did not want the state of Palestine to be established.
In addition, Maarouf emphasized the priority of an agreement about borders, saying that no solution would be possible without a two state agreement.
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