RAMALLAH, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinians will judge the upcoming Israeli government by the level of its commitment to peace and two-state solution, Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riad Al-Maliki said Monday.
Al-Maliki said the new government must work on resuming peace talks by halting the building of Jewish settlements and recognizing the United Nations' resolution which upgraded the status of Palestine to a non-member state.
He stressed that Israel must also recognize that East Jerusalem as the future capital of the Palestinian state.
Al-Maliki said the Palestinians have no comment on the structure of the Israeli coalition that would be headed by Benjamin Netanyahu.
But Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said that the new Israeli government, which would be sworn in before the Knesset today, "chooses settlement instead of peace."
On Friday, Netanyahu signed an agreement with leaders of other factions, including Yesh Atid and the Jewish House, which supports settlement expansion.
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