Tomorrow or in ten years, a Palestinian state shall be born, Erekat

Either tomorrow or in ten years time, a Palestinian state shall be born, within the borders of 1967 and with East Jerusalem as capital, Palestinian local affairs minister, Saieb Erekat, said on Wednesday.

How many deaths, on both sides, will it take before Israel understand that occupation is the highest form of terrorism and that occupation corrupts the occupier, wondered Erekat, who was interviewed by Belgian Le Soir daily.

The Palestinian chief negotiator deplored that Israel is using every possible stratagem to destroy the Palestinian National Authority. He accused Israel's Sharon of seeking to kill the peace process and get rid of the moderate Palestinian leadership.

Sharon has always fought peace. He refused to make peace with Egypt, with Jordan and with the Palestinians. He believes that Israel needs an external enemy to stay united, said Erekat, who warned that such an attitude pushes the whole Middle East region to the brink of anarchy.

Erekat met Tuesday in Brussels with European Union officials over the deteriorating situation in the Middle East.