PA adds new conditions for direct talks
In an interview with the BBC, chief 'Palestinian' Erekat told BBC that in order for direct talks to resume, Israel also must accept former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's proposal as a starting point. Olmert has said that the PA never replied to his offer, which accepted most of the PA's demands on Jerusalem but did not satisfy its insistence that Israel allow the immigration of millions of foreign Arabs claiming ancestry in the country.The good news is that this round of negotiations may be off by November. The bad news is that Obama may be a lame duck after November and does not seem to be giving up on his obsession with a 'Palestinian state.'
In addition, Erekat wants Israel to recognize the PA according to the armistice lines that existed from 1949 until the Six Day War in 1967 - which in effect would leave no issues for negotiation. He told BBC, "We already have recognized Israel based on the 1967 boundaries and now Israel must do the same.” The PA has previously has stated that Israel is a country, but PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has refused to accept Prime Minister Netanyahu’s insistence that it be recognized as “Jewish” country, a stipulation that would in effect preclude flooding it with foreign Arabs.
Erekat did not directly answer a question by BBC concerning Obama’s statements that the PA has not done enough to meet its own commitments, such as preventing incitement. “How can we talk about negotiations when Israeli bulldozers are on PA land?” Erekat answered.
What could go wrong?
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:50 PM
2 Comments:
Lame is relative isn't it? He seems to executive order happy so I would suspect he would not sit by idly and be called a lame duck. Wasn't it last week that he 'threatened' vast changes were coming next year? I do not believe he needs any support from anyone to push his agenda through.
The Palestinians refuse to talk to directly with Israel. Their new conditions make it very clear. They want Israel to do all the giving and they do all the taking - the pattern for the past two decades of Oslo. There is no Palestinian peace partner. It talks the language of rejectionism and extremism not of compromise and negotiation.
Don't hold your breath waiting for direct talks to happen by the time the freeze on the revanants ends in late September.
What could go wrong indeed
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