Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said in a press statement that the “land of Palestine is not for rent.”
On Friday, the London-based Arabic-language Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper said that the US administration and Israel discussed the land rental proposal to overcome some obstacles that face a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict.
According to the report, Israel would hire the land in East Jerusalem and the future Palestinian state’s eastern borders with Jordan for 40 or 99 years.
Erekat accused Israel of fueling debate on that issue as “trial balloons.”
The Palestinians have halted direct talks with Israel after the latter refused to extend a 10-month settlement construction moratorium that expired on Sept. 26.
An Arab League committee on the peace process last week supported the Palestinian’s decision on suspending talks and gave the US administration, the peace mediator, one month to convince Israel to freeze settlement building.
On Thursday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas aid the Palestinians “are ready to go back to the negotiations as soon as Israel stops settlement activities.”
Abbas told a news conference in Ramallah after meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit that he has “seven options” to respond to Israel’s expansion of settlements.
He did not reveal the options which are believed to include seeking an international recognition of a Palestinian statehood from the UN Security Council.
However, the republican members of the US House of Representatives have written a letter to US President Barack Obama in which they urge him to veto any attempt to pass a Security Council resolution recognizing a Palestinian state, which they said would predetermine the results of peace negotiations.
The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot quoted the republican representatives as saying that a UN resolution would cause serious damage to peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.