RAMALLAH, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- A senior Fatah official on Wednesday called for a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian statehood in response to the standstill in peace negotiations with Israel.

    "The old basis of the peace process did not achieve their national goals and peace," said Nasser al-Qedwa, a member of Fatah central committee.

    Speaking before thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank city of Ramallah, al-Qedwa called for announcing the Palestinian state by the Palestinians themselves.

    The Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, started in 1993 between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), failed to settle final-status issues which would pave the way for the two-state solution.

    The PNA blames the deadlock on Israel's continuing Jewish settlement in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.