The Palestinian people will celebrate the Holy Fire vigil next year in Jerusalem, the "eternal capital" of the Palestinian state, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Saturday night.

"Next year, Inshallah (God willing), we shall celebrate in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in east Jerusalem, the capital of the Palestinian state," Fayyad said at conclusion of this year’s Christian event in Bethlehem. "Our people, joined by all humanity, will celebrate the creation of the Palestinian independent state according to 1967 borders, a state whose capital shall be Jerusalem."

He said the Palestinian Liberation Organization was the trusted body to declare a state, in coordination with the international community.

Fayyad further noted, "The Palestinian state is being built these days brick by brick, step by step, and we continue to broaden services for our people to fortify its standing, especially in the areas which have been damaged by the fence and the settlements."

Meanwhile, Hamas called on Fayyad to stand trial for telling Ha’aretz in remarks published at the weekend that he intends to declare a Palestinian state in the summer of 2011 and to build infrastructure to absorb Palestinian refugees into the state.

The group said that with his remarks, Fayyad had effectively given up on the ‘right of return’ to 1948 borders.

“Fayyad is an illegitimate leader who stole rule in the West Bank, Hamas officials were quoted by Army Radio as saying. “His hands are soiled with the suffering of thousands of martyrs in the West Bank.”

Meanwhile, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, meeting with senior members of Palestinian terrorist groups in Damascus on Saturday, hinted at widening the confrontation with Israel, saying, “We will do everything to obtain the rights stolen from us, including confrontation with the enemy.”

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=172396

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