Special report: Palestine-Israel Relations

    RAMALLAH, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Part of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's plan for settlement with the Palestinians were "lies" and the other part were "half facts," a Palestinian negotiator said on Wednesday.

    Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat's remarks came after Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported Tuesday that Olmert offered Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a plan, in which Israel would withdraw from 93 percent of the West Bank and the Palestinians would annex 5.5 percent of Western Negev to Gaza Strip to compensate the loss of seven percent of West Bank.

    Erekat told the press that such media reports are "big danger" since there is an understanding between the two sides "not to leak any information about what is going on inside the negotiation channels."

    The Israeli government, "which realizes its internal problems prevent it from making a deal with the Palestinians," tries to put the blame on the Palestinians, said Erekat, adding "the Israelis will say they have made their offer but it was the Palestinians who rejected."

    The Palestinian negotiator reminded that in 2000, Israel made a similar offer "and the Palestinians paid a very high price," referring to the start of the second Intifada (uprising) which followed the failure of Camp David negotiations.

    "We must not allow this to happen again in 2008," Erekat stressed, adding for the Palestinians, the Israeli offer was not complete because it dealt with issues like Jerusalem and refugees "at the expense of other rights."

    The offer also depends on the Palestinian National Authority (PNA)'s success in retaking control of Gaza Strip from Islamic Hamas movement which drove out forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas and took over the territory last year.

    "This is an attempt to take advantage of the Palestinian internal affairs ... Olmert uses our wound, Hamas coup, as a sword against us," Erekat added.