PLO and Egypt (Egypt?) blast quartet statement on 'peace process'
The Middle East 'quartet' (US, UN, Russia and EU) met over the weekend in Munich and issued a surprisingly moderate statement regarding the 'peace process.' In its statement, the Quartet "emphasized the need for the parties and others concerned to undertake urgently the efforts to expedite Israeli-Palestinian and comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, which is imperative to avoiding outcomes detrimental to the region."You will recall that the 'Palestinians' rejected those concessions.
The statement also said it "regrets" Israel's decision not to renew its 10-month moratorium on building in West Bank settlements. It also condemned rocket fire from Gaza on Israel and "stressed the need for calm and security for both peoples."
The Quartet in its statement commended Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for his leadership and for "continued Palestinian state-building efforts," and also welcomed a package of gestures announced the previous day by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Quartet envoy Tony Blair during a meeting in Jerusalem.
The confidence-building measures include allowing new Arab housing projects in eastern Jerusalem; the extension of a PA presence in the West Bank; the building of Palestinian schools and health clinics in the West Bank; the granting of West Bank identity cards to 5,000 Gaza-registered residents of the West Bank.
Also, the approval for construction in Gaza including private homes, desalinization plants and offshore work on the ‘Gaza Marine’ gas field, a PA gas field adjacent to an Israeli one off the coast of Gaza. The measures allow the necessary construction material for the Gaza building.
On Tuesday, the 'Palestinian Authority' and Egypt (which you thought was kind of busy right now) blasted the 'quartet' statement.
PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo told Kuwait news agency KUNA Monday that the latest Quartet statement on the peace process was "regretful" and fell short of the Palestinians' expectations.Could it be that the 'quartet' has finally realized that a 'Palestinian state' will be an Islamic Caliphate? Hmmm.
The statement, which focused on getting sides back to the negotiating table as an "imperative" for regional stability, did not mention Israel's failure to stop settlement construction on Palestinian lands, an issue PLO negotiators say remains the stumbling block to a return to talks.
In their statement, the Quartet urged sides "to undertake urgently efforts to expedite Israeli-Palestinian and comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, which is imperative to avoiding outcomes detrimental to the region."
Abed Rabbo told KUNA that he blamed Quartet Envoy and former British premier Tony Blair for the weak statement.
Also on Monday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry echoed Abed Rabbo's statements, issuing a paper calling the Quartet statement "disappointing and less than expected for both Palestinians and Arabs."
Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossam Zaki said the statement focused on general rather than the core issues, and criticized it because it "neither touched upon the core issues nor included recognition of a Palestinian state on the land occupied in 1967 war and East Jerusalem as its capital as it was expected."
Labels: Egypt, Middle East peace process, Middle East quartet, Palestinian Authority
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:20 AM
2 Comments:
No one expects negotiations to resume in the foreseeable future.
The Palestinians have neither a credible leadership nor the will to make a compromise peace with Israel.
That's the way its going to be for a generation.
"disappointing and less than expected for both Palestinians and Arabs."
Can someone explain the difference? :)
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