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SPIEGEL Interview with Palestinian Prime Minister: 'An Independent Palestine Will Be Inevitable' (Der Spiegel. 9/19/11)

In a SPIEGEL interview, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, 59, discusses controversial plans by the Palestinians to apply for member state status at the United Nations this Friday and why he believes the action should not be considered a unilateral move.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Prime Minister, will you go down in history as the founding father of Palestine?

Fayyad: I don't know if there will be a Palestinian state during my term in office, but I have no doubt that it will happen.

SPIEGEL: In recent years, you have been busy building schools and roads, reforming the administration and moving toughly to combat terrorism. Is Palestine ready for independence?

Fayyad: Yes, we are ready. And it's not just me saying that -- it is also organizations like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations. They already confirmed in April that the Palestinian Authority had crossed its threshold for relevance for statehood. To me, this is a birth certificate for our state. Even if Israel hasn't ended its occupation, the reality of Palestinian statehood projected on the ground is going to create so much de facto pressure that an independent Palestine will be inevitable.

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