Israel Matzav

What "bold moves" does he plan to make?

Unelected 'Palestinian' Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, also known as the Terror Financier in the Business Suit, has called for Israel to make "bold moves" in the period between now and the beginning of the Annapolis conference mugging, including the release of 2000 'Palestinian' prisoners terrorists.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad on urged Israel to agree to a deadline for peace talks and make "bold moves" ahead of the conference, including the release of 2,000 of more than 12,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Israel has rejected demands for a timetable, and US officials have also been cool to the idea, but Fayad told The Associated Press in an interview that a deadline is essential for restoring credibility to more than a decade of failed peace efforts.

Fayad, a pragmatist who meets frequently with Israeli leaders, said he is making headway on his plan to wrest control of the West Bank's streets from Palestinian militants. On Friday, 300 Palestinian police were deployed in the West Bank's most chaotic city, Nablus, as part of his gradual approach to restoring control.

Asked about recent threats by Hamas in Gaza that the Islamic terror group would one day seize control of the West Bank, Fayad said Abbas's security forces in the West Bank are gradually performing better.

"With each passing day, our confidence rises," said Fayad, who was installed as prime minister after Abbas fired the Hamas-led government in response to Hamas's forcible takeover of Gaza in June.

"I don't spend too much time thinking about or listening to statements made here or there," Fayad said. "Our goal is clear and including of course, in the run-up to achieving our national objectives, ensuring that what happened in Gaza would not happen in the West Bank," he said. "That's what I preoccupy myself with."

Fayyad said Israel needs to do more now to try to restore the Palestinians' trust in peace efforts and begin easing restrictions, such as removing major army roadblocks.

"I think we need to really begin to see some bold moves in the direction of dealing with those issues of the here and now, for the people to buy into the process," he said. "We need to rekindle signs of hope after years of deterioration."

And just what "bold moves" are the 'Palestinians' willing to make to give Israelis confidence in the 'peace process'? Yesterday, 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen admitted that he's negotiating with members of Hamas about a sulha between himself and 'moderate' elected 'Palestinian' Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. I doubt most Israelis would consider that a "bold move."

Not to be outdone, Abu Mazen himself issued some more threats today through his spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudaineh:

The Palestinian Authority demands that Washington make an effort to achieve a document that would stand up to the Palestinian people's expectations and would help make the upcoming peace conference scheduled to take place at Annapolis, Maryland a success, Israel Radio reported Saturday evening.

The Palestinian demand was announced by PA President Mahmoud Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh following a meeting in Ramallah between Abbas and the United States' Assistant Secretary of State David Welsh.

According to Rudaineh, Abbas told Welsh that the Palestinians were working to implement the first stage of the 'Road Map' and asked that Israel, too, would take measures to implement its own Road Map obligations.

Two questions for Abu Rudaineh: How many terrorists have the 'Palestinians' arrested and how many weapons have they confiscated? Answer: None and none.

/discussion

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:24 PM