Palestinian state may have to be abandoned - Erekat

By Mohammed Assadi

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinians may have to abandon the goal of an independent state if Israel continues to expand Jewish settlements and the United States does not stop it, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Wednesday.

It may be time for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to "tell his people the truth, that with the continuation of settlement activities, the two-state solution is no longer an option", Erekat told a news conference.

Citing a 2003 peace "road map" that also calls on Palestinians to rein in militants, Abbas has made a cessation of Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank a precondition for resuming statehood talks with Israel.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who met Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Saturday, unsuccessfully urged Abbas to negotiate with Israel and resolve the settlement issue within the framework of the talks.

Erekat said Clinton -- who praised as unprecedented Netanyahu's offer to limit temporarily construction in West Bank settlements to 3,000 additional housing units -- was only opening the door to more settlements in the next two years.

The alternative left for Palestinians is to "refocus their attention on the one-state solution where Muslims, Christians and Jews can live as equals", Erekat said. "It is very serious. This is the moment of truth for us."

Israel has rejected a single state for Israelis and Palestinians as a demographic timebomb that would make Jews a minority in the country.

Erekat said Netanyahu's concept of a Palestinian state with limited powers of sovereignty and his uncompromising position on the future of Jerusalem were tantamount to dictating the terms of peace negotiations in advance.