Palestinians to form de-facto state

JERUSALEM, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayad said it's time to change the discourse on the Middle East by establishing a de facto Palestinian state.

In an interview with The Times of London Tuesday, Fayad said initiating such a move with or without Israel's cooperation would entail ensuring the future Palestinian state has competent security forces, public services and a thriving economy.

Fayad said he hopes such a Palestinian state could be established by mid-2011, the paper said.

After 16 years of failed peace talks, it is time to change the discourse, the Palestinian prime minister said.

"We have decided to be proactive, to expedite the end of the occupation by working very hard to ... (have) our state emerge as a fact that cannot be ignored. This is our agenda, and we want to pursue it doggedly, " Fayad said.

Israel and the Palestinian Authority must commit to the 2003 so-called "road map," which calls on Israel to implement a settlement freeze and the Palestinian Authority to rein in the activities of militant groups, he said.

Israel's refusal to impose a freeze on West Bank settlements continues to be one of the main obstacles to achieving peace, Fayad said.

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