Israel Matzav

Abu Mazen: 'A settlement freeze is Obama's condition, not ours, but we'll abide by it'

Before Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting in Beer Sheva, Prime Minister Netanyahu invited 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen to come join him in Beer Sheva for talks.

"Let's make peace - both diplomatic peace and economic peace," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting in Beersheba that was held there as an act of solidarity with the Negev capital. "There is no reason why we can't meet, the Palestinian Authority president and I, anywhere in Israel, and since we are in Beersheba, I say, let's meet here.

"The Palestinian population living alongside us has a basic right to live in peace, security and prosperity," he stressed. "In recent weeks, we have made great efforts to ease their lives. We've removed many roadblocks, we have decided to increase the operating hours of the Allenby Bridge for more goods, and I've decided to advance a series of projects with the Palestinians to promote peace. But all these efforts can only bring us to a certain point, and the results will be multiplied by the dozen if there is cooperation from the other side."

Reaching out to Arab countries, as well as to Palestinian leaders, he said, "Let's meet, let's cooperate… We have the ability to bring many players on board."

Following the line espoused by American President Barack Obama and his European counterparts, 'Palestinian' chief bottle washer negotiator Saeb Erekat said that there would be no talks until there is a total 'settlement freeze.'

“There can be no compromises on construction,” Erekat said. “If Israel is allowed to build 1,000 or 2,000 housing units it will lead the PA and the Arab nations to believe the U.S. government cannot convince the Israeli government to stop building.”

And in an interview with the Egyptian magazine October (so named for the 'great victory' of the Arab nations in the October 1973 Yom Kippur War, which ended with the Egyptian Third Army surrounded by Israeli troops), Abu Bluff went so far as to say that a 'settlement freeze' is an American condition, but that the 'Palestinians' will abide by it.

In an interview published Sunday with the Egyptian weekly October, the PA president insisted that a halt to construction in West Bank settlements was not a Palestinian condition, but rather a condition set by US President Barack Obama.

Abbas emphasized that in a final status agreement, he would not give up on even one inch of the West Bank, saying that the Palestinians "demand territorial continuity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip and won't give up on the right of return." [Abu Mazen must be getting frustrated. How many times does he have to say that before someone believes him? CiJ]

Over the weekend, Abbas sent a letter to Obama in which he reiterated Palestinian demands for a peace deal based on a the establishment of a Palestinian state along the June 1967 borders.

And the always 'helpful' Javier Solana has now tired of waiting and wants to impose a 'settlement' on the parties Israel.

"After a fixed deadline, a UN Security Council resolution should proclaim the adoption of the two-state solution," Solana was quoted as saying, adding that such a move should include resolutions regarding borders, the refugee problem, the issue of Jerusalem and security arrangements.

"It would accept the Palestinian state as a full member of the UN, and set a calendar for implementation. It would mandate the resolution of other remaining territorial disputes and legitimize the end of claims," Solana was quoted by Reuters as saying.

"If the parties are not able to stick to [the timetable], then a solution backed by the international community should be put on the table," he said.

With the Obama administration imposing conditions on Israel for talks and the Europeans backing an imposed solution to the conflict, why should the 'Palestinians' ever have to answer Netanyahu's call and come to the table. What's there to 'negotiate' anyway?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:37 PM