May deadline flexible `to end of this year'

The Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, would put off declaring independence on May 4th in return for guarantees from the EU and the US, a senior Palestinian source has told The Irish Times.

The EU and the US have asked the Palestine Authority to shift this deadline so the Palestinian declaration would not increase the likelihood of a right-wing victory in Israel's May 17th elections.

A Palestinian source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said May 4th "is our deadline because that marks the end of the interim period" defined by the Oslo accords. "Once the interim period is over we are in to permanent status. Unless we reach agreement with Israel on permanent status ahead of May 4th, we will proceed without agreement."

However, he said, "May 4th is not a sacred day. It just happens to be the day the interim period ends. It means nothing to us in terms of our history . . . We are prepared to proclaim the state on another day. June 4th, or July 4th, perhaps, even on November 15th [the date the Palestine National Council originally proclaimed Palestinian independence in 1988].

"But we will not go beyond 1999. That's the finish. We are prepared to be flexible on the date to this extent."

UDI "means Palestinian sovereignty over all the territory occupied by Israel in 1967" (the West Bank and Gaza), the informant said. UN Security Council Resolution "242 is the term of reference for Oslo, so our state will cover the territories mentioned in 242", which the Oslo accords are designed to implement.

"We demand 100 per cent of the land occupied in 1967 because we cannot ask for less. This will leave Israel with 80 per cent of Palestine. We are not asking for much, only 20 per cent of our country . . . but while we demand 100 per cent of the land [the West Bank and Gaza], we are prepared for limitations on sovereignty" to provide Israel with security.

"We are ready to negotiate sovereignty. Perhaps we will have 7080 per cent sovereignty. We will have `soft sovereignty' or `relative sovereignty', but every other state in the world has `soft sovereignty', including the United States, because no state can do exactly what it wants. States have to think of their neighbours and the rest of the world, particularly with globalisation."

He defined the conditions which must be met if the May 4th deadline was to be extended.

"We must have very clear guarantees from the United States and the European Union and the 114 states which already recognise Palestine. These countries must acknowledge the new date as final and guarantee that on that date they will recognise the Palestinian state - regardless who comes to power in Israel after the election.

"They must use maximum leverage to force Israel to accept and they must recognise the state, whatever happens in the negotiations which carry on after the declaration of the state. These guarantees must be made public."

Other Palestinian officials have said that Israel must also freeze Jewish settlement and land confiscation and fully implement all provisions of the interim deals, including the Wye River Accord reached last October.

This interview took place just before Mr Arafat's declarations in Davos.