Israel Matzav

No more 'peace talks'?

Israel and the 'Palestinians' have apparently taken vows not to speak to each other. Here's the 'Palestinian' vow:

The Fatah General Assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution according to which the negotiations with Jerusalem will not renewed until Israel releases all the Palestinian prisoners held in its jails, Israel Radio reported.

However, citing a Palestinian report, the radio station also included a more moderate wording of the decision, according to which an agreement on a time-frame for the release of all Palestinian prisoners is a condition for the renewal of peace talks.

Senior Fatah official Nabil Sha'ath said that the committee in charge of determining the movement's policy approved 14 conditions for the renewal of negotiations with Israel, including lifting the blockade on the Gaza Strip and halting settlement construction.

In an interview with a Web site linked with the Islamic Jihad, Sha'ath added that Fatah had not denounced the armed resistance, though it had not yet lost faith in the negotiations.

And here's the Israeli refusal:

The Fatah conference's unanimous resolution Thursday to hold Israel responsible for the death of Yasser Arafat left Israeli officials annoyed and bemused, with Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai remarking there was a better chance of negotiations on Mars than in the region, and Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon saying the conference was a "serious blow to peace."

"This was another lost opportunity for the Palestinian leadership to adopt moderate views," Avalon told The Jerusalem Post. "Instead, it reverted to making extreme statements. This has raised suspicions that the Palestinians do not want a two-state solution, but rather a one-state solution."

Yishai said that the decision relating to Arafat was "pathetic," testimony to the Palestinians' true intentions. "There is no room for any negotiation here," he said.

The sixth General Assembly of Fatah unanimously adopted a proposal on Thursday calling for the establishment of a committee to investigate the death of Arafat. The panel will abide by the following guidelines: Israel bears full responsibility for Arafat's death, the issue continues to remain open, and the investigation will enlist international support.

...

Information Minister Yuli Edelstein said that "the weird attempt to blame Israel for Arafat's assassination and commemorate him as a martyr is aimed at justifying the Palestinians' ongoing armed struggle against Israel, which is extending its hand in peace to them."

And Ynet quoted Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz as saying the government should declare that the Palestinians would not be negotiating partners until they canceled the Arafat resolution, recognized Israel as a Jewish state, and gave up on the refugee "right of return."

Katz said that the Palestinians have revealed their "true face," and that Abbas and "his friends have proven with the conference, as well as with their renewed call for armed struggle against Israel, that they don't want peace, but rather are looking for any way to destroy Israel as a Jewish state."

Even as Ayalon, Yishai, Katz and Edelstein responded harshly to the conference, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have stayed relatively quiet about the proceedings.

Cooler heads may yet prevail on the Israeli side. But if the 'Palestinians' think Israel is going to fulfill all those conditions just for 'talks'... hell will freeze over first.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:54 AM