Israel Matzav

'Palestinian' chief negotiator bottle washer gets diarrhea of the mouth

'Palestinian' chief negotiator bottle washer Saeb Erekat has apparently contracted diarrhea of the mouth. Saeb keeps making one contradictory statement after another.

According to a report in the London-based pan-Arabic daily al-Hayat on Saturday, members of the 'Palestinian' delegation - presumably including Saeb - said that their delegation felt a 180-degree turn in attitude following Thursday's talks.

Palestinian members of the peace talks delegation were left feeling encouraged by the launch in Washington on Thursday, Arabic language newspaper Al-Hayat reported on Saturday.

According to the report, PA sources said that Palestinian attendees on the Washington trip felt a significant shift in outlook regarding impending negotiations, having arrived feeling skeptical and negative.

The sources told the newspaper that there had been a "180 degree" change in attitude, mainly due to the US pressure on Israel to extend the construction moratorium, and the hope that negotiations will conclude within a year.

As they would say in a Dale Carnegie course, the Obama administration is doing the 'peace talks' with ENTHUSIASM.

Later on Saturday, Saeb reversed himself in an interview with a Jordanian newspaper.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is only interested in delaying peace talks and wasting time, Palestinian Authority Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat told Jordanian newspaper Addustour on Saturday.

According to the Addustour report, Erekat said that Netanyahu suggested establishing 12 committees during the negotiations that both sides will take part in, a suggestion that was rejected by the Palestininains.

Erekat added that the topics to be discussed have already been decided in Washington and they include Jerusalem, the settlements, borders, water, security and the release of prisoners. [What? No 'refugees'? CiJ]

The PA negotiator clarified that this is not time for negotiations but instead time to reach certain decisions with regard to all the different issues.

The Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported that Erekat called on Israel to evacuate the settlements in the West Bank as part of the peace agreement.

And then there's Sunday's headline in the JPost print edition quoting - you guessed it - Saeb.

Erekat claimed that PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu agreed at their meeting in Washington on Thursday that the peace talks would be resumed from the point where they were stopped two years ago under then-prime minister Ehud Olmert.

Netanyahu, however, has said repeatedly that he was not bound by concessions that Olmert offered, and the Palestinians rejected.

“We have reached agreement on the agenda of the direct talks,” Erekat said. “We have also reached agreement on a timeline for a temporary framework agreement – 12 months.”

Does that mean they've decided to go for an 'interim agreement'? Hmmm.

Saeb went through the same issues list as in the previous item, and then he came up with this:

He added that defining the future borders of a Palestinian state would be the first issue on the negotiating table. “This is the time for decision-making, not negotiations,” he said.

“What is needed is agreement on the principles of the final status issues. When the leaders and decision-makers agree on the principles, the negotiators will then start discussing the details.

Erekat revealed that the Palestinians have set up 14 committees consisting of more than 220 experts to prepare for the negotiations.

In other words, Saeb wants to deal with the 'Palestinians' demand on borders first - take it or leave it - because if we leave it there is nothing else to discuss. But then Saeb goes on to say that he's having lots of committees - an idea that he supposedly rejected.

Saeb seems a little bit confused. Unfortunately, Israel's Prime Minister - who has a history of talking tough and doing exactly the opposite - is likely equally confused.

What could go wrong?

P.S. I almost forgot to mention this one:

PA negotiator Saeb Erekat said Saturday night that he hoped that Israel would destroy towns in Judea and Samaria when a final arrangement is reached with the Palestinian Authority. “I hope they will end up destroying settlements as they did in Sinai and Gush Katif,” he said.

Erekat denied that he was set to meet with Israeli negotiator Yitzchak Molcho in Jericho on Monday.

Where will they find enough troops to do that?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:11 PM