Israel Matzav

Surprise (not): 'Palestinian Authority' decision to delay Goldstone vote was coordinated with the US

This should come as no surprise to anyone who was following the news at the time: The 'Palestinian Authority' coordinated delaying the consideration of the Goldstone Report with the United States.

According to documents obtained by the station, at a September 24, 2009, meeting between PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, US envoy George Mitchell and his assistant David Hale, the latter informed Erekat that “our intention is to move quickly to relaunch negotiations. We are wrapping up an agreement on a package with Israel, and including other parties.”

At end of the meeting, Mitchell invited Erekat to Washington on the day before the UN Human Rights Council was due to vote on the Goldstone Report.

The Palestine Papers further divulge that during the exact time of the crucial UNHRC vote, Erekat was in Washington seeking more guarantees from the US, Al-Jazeera reported.

During a meeting with Mitchell and Hale on October 1, 2009, Mitchell reiterated to Erekat not only Washington’s commitment to a new round of talks but also US willingness to take a more active role on behalf of the Palestinians, Al-Jazeera said.

Mitchell, according to the documents, said the US would “explicitly repeat its position on Jerusalem (nonrecognition of Israeli annexation and related actions, demolitions, evictions etc.). In such a situation, with negotiations going on, if [Israel] makes a provocative announcement, the US has the leverage to state that this undermines the process, and that Israel is acting in bad faith in the negotiations.”

The following day, while Abbas was in New York pushing to postpone the vote on Goldstone, Erekat again met with Mitchell. This time, Al-Jazeera said, Erekat “appeared to use the expected international backlash to the vote deferral as a bargaining chip in proving their commitment to peace talks.”

Erekat was quoted by Al-Jazeera as telling the Americans, “We find ourselves in the eye of the storm. We pray every day that Israel will come to the point where they realize that a Palestinian state on the [1967] border is in their interest... That’s why we are frustrated. We want to help the Israelis.”

According to Al-Jazeera, Mitchell presented Erekat with a document “containing language that, if agreed to, would nullify one of the PA’s few weapons – the chance to prosecute Israeli officials for war crimes in Gaza at the International Criminal Court at The Hague.”

The US language stated: “The PA will help to promote a positive atmosphere conducive to negotiations; in particular during negotiations it will refrain from pursuing or supporting any initiative directly or indirectly in international legal forums that would undermine that atmosphere.”

It was obvious to everyone at the time that the 'Palestinian Authority' didn't wake up one morning and decide that it was going to give up the Goldstone Report as a weapon. Clearly there was pressure from elsewhere, and just about everyone realized it was coming from the United States. This should not surprise anyone. But it will be used as a weapon against the 'Palestinian Authority' by Hamas and by al-Jazeera.

Labels: al-Jazeera, Goldstone Report, Operation Cast Lead, Palileaks, Politics, World Politics

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:57 AM