RAMALLAH, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye on Tuesday urged the U.S. Congress to recognize Palestine as a state.
Ishtaye's office said in an emailed statement following his meeting with U.S. Senator Ron Wyden that he urged him to lift the ban on the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
The statement said that the U.S.-Palestinian relations must be dealt with separately from that in the peace process, adding that the Palestinians should not be punished or blackmailed by the U.S. administration.
"We want it (U.S. administration) to be an honest broker and partner of peace," it added.
Ishtaye reiterated the Palestinian Authority (PA)'s rejection to the U.S. "Deal of the Century," as well as its cuts on aid to the UN refugee body and its recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
He also warned against annexing parts of the West Bank under so-called settlement blocks, adding that the move would destroy the two-state solution and undermine the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders.
The Palestinians have boycotted the American administration since it recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem last May.
They said in several statements that the U.S. "Deal of the Century" falls way short of their expectations and aspirations for lasting and just peace settlement and called for an international multilateral peace mechanism to overlook peace negotiations.
