Saeb Erekat on why the 'Palestinians' rejected the November 2008 offer
On Sunday night, al-Jazeera and al-Guardian released hundreds of documents that are alleged to have come from the 'Palestinian' negotiators with Israel. It is alleged that the 'Palestinians' - in the words of 'chief negotiator' Saeb Erekat - offered Israel "the biggest Yerushalayim ever" (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).The unprecedented offer by the PA came in a June 15 trilateral meeting in Jerusalem, involving Condoleezza Rice, the then-US secretary of state, Tzipi Livni, the then-Israeli foreign minister, Ahmed Qurei, PA's former prime minister, and Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator.So if this was what was offered, why couldn't a deal be made (aside from the fact that this deal did not cover anything other than Jerusalem)? Let's let Saeb Erekat tell us himself. This is the 'Palestinians' 'chief negotiator' on al-Jazeera in Arabic in March 2009 explaining why the deal didn't happen.Qurei: This last proposition could help in the swap process. We proposed that Israel annexes all settlements in Jerusalem except Jabal Abu Ghneim (Har Homa). This is the first time in history that we make such a proposition; we refused to do so in Camp David.Erekat went on to enumerate some of the settlements that the PA was willing to concede: French Hill, Ramat Alon, Ramat Shlomo, Gilo, Talpiot, and the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem’s old city. Those areas contain some 120,000 Jewish settlers. (Erekat did not mention the fate of other major East Jerusalem settlements, like Pisgat Ze’ev and Neve Ya’akov, but Qurei’s language indicates that they would also remain a part of Israel.)
The Palestine Papers include a rendering of the land swap map presented in mid-2008 to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas by Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert.
In an October 2009 [I assume this should be 2008 - by October 2009 the parties were not talking. CiJ] meeting, Erekat also proposed a geographical division of Jerusalem’s Old City, with control of the Jewish Quarter and "part of the Armenian Quarter" going to the Israelis.
Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: Soccer Dad).
That sure explains a lot, doesn't it?
Labels: Jerusalem, Palileaks, Saeb Erekat, Temple Mount
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:42 PM
1 Comments:
The point is the Palestinians weren't willing to set aside their anti-Israel ideology to make peace. That has held true ever since the 1920s and it still holds true today. Don't look for it to change in our lifetime.
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