Israel Matzav

'Palestinians': US 'settlement freeze' demand unchanged

'Palestinian' chief bottle washer negotiator Saeb Erekat claims that Special Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell told moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen on Monday that, contrary to what's been reported in the media, the US demand for a complete 'settlement freeze' in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem remains unchanged.

"Mitchell told Abbas that contrary to what has been said in the mass media there is no agreement with the Israeli side on anything," Erekat told reporters.

Another Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to divulge Mitchell's comments to Palestinian leaders, said the US envoy reported that while there had been some progress in his talks with the Israelis on the issue, gaps remain.

Meanwhile, at UN headquarters in New York, Palestinian UN observer Riyad Mansour told the UN Security Council that the Palestinians had been encouraged in the past few months "by the more active, balanced approach" of President Barack Obama's administration and the US leader's "clear commitment to the two-state solution for peace and justice."

Obama's recent speech in Cairo and Mitchell's diplomatic efforts "have renewed hopes in the vast potential of responsible, fair US leadership to positively contribute towards realization of a solution that will make peace and security a reality for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples as well as the Middle East region as a whole," Mansour said.

In other words, the 'Palestinians' believe that Obama, unlike his predecessors, will deliver Israel on a silver platter.

Change! But not the good kind.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:37 PM