Saeb Erekat
Saeb ErekatFlash 90

Saeb Erekat, Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Executive Committee, said on Thursday that peace in the Middle East would not be achieved without "a just and lasting political solution to the Palestinian issue."

Erekat added that "the only solution to life in security and peace lies in the implementation of the two-state solution. Otherwise, the only alternative is a one-state solution that maintains two regimes, one of which is an apartheid regime."

Erekat's statements were made during a meeting with US and South African church leaders who were visiting the Palestinian Authority (PA) on behalf of the Churches for Middle East Peace non-profit organization.

Erekat stated, "Judaism is not and was not a threat to us (the Palestinians), but the root of the problem lies in the Israeli occupation which strives to turn the conflict into a religious conflict."

His comments come as the Trump administration continues to work on its peace plan which will be presented after the Israeli elections on April 9.

PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas has rejected the US peace plan being formulated by the Trump administration before it has even been unveiled.

The PA has been boycotting the US ever since President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December of 2017.

Earlier this week, Trump's adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who heads the team formulating the administration's peace plan, revealed several details about the plan to Sky News in Arabic.

Kushner did not get into many specifics but did say the plan “is very detailed and will focus on delineating the border and providing solutions to the main issues that are controversial and will be appropriate for the current situation on the ground.”