Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak will present to US President George W. Bush his plan for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at Camp David on June 7-8, a high-ranking Arab official said.
The plan, which Egypt crystallized with the help of the Palestinians and other Arab officials, envisions the declaration of a Palestinian state in early 2003.
"A Palestinian state must be declared in early 2003, and will extend provisionally over the ... (Palestinian) autonomous zones of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, some 42 percent of Palestinian territories occupied in 1967", the Arab official told AFP.
Israel and the Palestinians would then embark on final status negotiations to end their conflict, with the aim of achieving a full Israeli withdrawal from all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the official added.
The Egyptian plan was the result of weeks of intense diplomatic activity, and Mubarak will review it with Bush and US Secretary of State Colin Powell in his upcoming visit.
According to the official, the declaration of a Palestinian state will come after Palestinian political and security reforms are executed and elections are held in late 2002.
"Israel and Palestine will then enter into negotiations, after it becomes a recognized member of the United Nations. These talks should lead to a full Israeli withdrawal to the borders of 1967, achieved in three to four years", the same source said. (Albawaba.com)
