Fayyad: Palestinian state comes next year

RAMALLAH, West Bank, April 2 (UPI) -- A Palestinian state will be a reality next year, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said.

"The time for this baby to be born will come," Fayyad told Harretz in an interview published Friday, "and we estimate it will come around 2011. That is our vision, and a reflection of our will to exercise our right to live in freedom and dignity in the country (where) we are born, alongside the State of Israel in complete harmony."

Fayyad said Palestinians want an independent and sovereign state, not "a state of leftovers." He expressed appreciation of the Quartet on the Middle East's announcement during a meeting in Moscow that supports the Palestinian Authority's plan from 2009 that supports a state within two years.

The Quartet's members are the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia and was established in 2002 because of the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is the Quartet's special envoy.

He said Israeli settlers in disputed territories such as East Jerusalem don't reflect the opinions of the majority of Israelis.

"We have universally shared values," the prime minister said, noting "peace will be made between equals, not between masters and slaves."