'Palestinians' reject quartet proposal
There's a lot for Israel not to like in the latest quartet proposal for Middle East 'peace talks,' but here's the bottom line: It may not matter, because the 'Palestinians' have already indicated that they will reject it. The Quartet statement urged the parties “to overcome the current obstacles and resume direct bilateral Israeli-Palestinian negotiations without delay or preconditions.”The 'Palestinians' have already rejected the quartet proposal. It doesn't fulfill their preconditions.
Acknowledging that talks by themselves will not reestablish trust, the Quartet proposed the following: a “preparatory meeting” between the parties within a month to agree to an agenda and a “method of proceeding in the negotiation.” The two sides will commit that the objective is to “reach an agreement within a time frame agreed to by the parties but not longer than the end of 2012.”
The statement said the expectation is that the parties will come up with comprehensive proposal on territory and security with three months, and will have made “substantial progress” within six months. To facilitate this, an international conference will be held in Moscow “at the appropriate time.”
The statement also called for another donors conference to help the PA state-building efforts. In addition, “the members of the Quartet will consult to identify additional steps they can actively support towards Palestinian statehood individually and together, to secure in accordance with existing procedures significantly greater independence and sovereignty for the Palestinian Authority over its affairs.”
In what could be interpreted as a veiled reference to settlement construction, the statement continued: “The Quartet calls upon the parties to refrain from provocative actions if negotiations are to be effective. The Quartet reiterated the obligations of both parties under the road map.”
The PA was quick to reject the Quartet’s proposal.And of course that means more pressure for another round of unilateral Israeli concessions.
Its Foreign Minister Riad Malki said on Saturday that the Quartet’s initiative is “incomplete.” He pointed out that it does not call for a cessation of settlement construction or a pullout to the pre- 1967 lines.
“The only new thing that the Quartet carries is a time line for discussing the issues of security and borders,” Malki said, referring to the Quartet’s statement calling for an agreement by December 2012.
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the PA leadership would discuss the Quartet initiative in the coming days.
A number of Palestinian factions, including Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine also rejected the Quartet plan, saying it was designed to “foil” Palestinian aspirations for independence.
In an interview on Friday with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Netanyahu – after being asked a number of times if he would consider another settlement freeze – said that he tried that once, and it went nowhere, but added, “I am willing to talk about it.”And some of that pressure is coming from Israel's traitorous opposition.
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni (Kadima) said following Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ speeches to the UN General Assembly on Friday that the two leaders “look like they are standing on two separate icebergs, yelling at each other.”Given that the 'Palestinians' will not come to the table, what is the opposition suggesting? That we unilaterally declare a 'Palestinian state' to prevent the 'Palestinians' from doing so? What could go wrong?
“Two leaders stood on the UN stage, each talking to his own people, telling his historical story and blaming the other,” Livni wrote on her Facebook page. “After the speeches, I hope that more Israelis have not lost hope.”
“Do not raise your hands or lose hope, because there is another way, and together we can change Israel’s direction,” the Kadima leader added.
“This is a time for actions, not talk,” MK Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) added. “The choice is between negotiations or a conflict. We are witnessing one of the State of Israel’s most difficult hours on the international stage.”
Mofaz called upon Netanyahu to “take advantage of the narrow window of opportunity and the small amount of international credit we have left and adopt the diplomatic plan that calls for borders and security arrangements.”
“The power of speeches is not enough to change reality,” he added. “That is the job of a leader. I call upon the prime minister to act, for the future and security of the State of Israel.”
Labor leader MK Shelly Yacimovich said that “Abbas’ speech was difficult, and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech was eloquent, but speeches cannot replace policy.”
“Netanyahu should have realized that Israel hit a dangerous dead end, and it is the government’s responsibility to take initiative and not just describe the bad situation in a speech,” the newly-elected Labor leader said.
“Netanyahu’s call for Abbas to meet with him for peace talks is right, but now we have to actively lead with actions and not just words.”
“We must make a two-state solution a reality, in order to prevent a unilaterally declared Palestinian state that will surely cause us harm,” Yacimovich added.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Binyamin Netanyahu, Middle East quartet, Palestinian state RIGHT NOW syndrome, Shaul Mofaz, Shelly Yacimovich, Tzipi Livni
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:24 AM
4 Comments:
The Israeli opposition overlooks the fact the Palestinians elected to voluntarily abrogate the Oslo Accords. Israel did not push them to do it. What it reveals to most Israeli Jews is the futility of relying on Arab promises. They can be unilaterally discarded when it suits them. We are now living in the post-Oslo, post-peace process era. There will be no negotiations for decades and there will be no peace in our lifetime.
The White Tribe of Israel sits morosely like the mythical last polar bear of Al Gore's imagination, floating off on a little iceberg of its own into the great uncharted arctic seas of illusion, delusion, and snow blindness.
The PA and their masters beleive they have all the time in the world to pressure Israel. As a matter of fact they may not have - but why tell them? The result of the 2012 US election may be that we will see a Republican adminstration with an increased majority in the House. If the right candidate wins the presidency we may even have John Bolton as SecState.
If that happens, I think M Abbas and his ilk will no longer be able to play with US taxmoney. (The EU will of course tell everyone that their members will increase the aid to the PA, but by that time will the EU have any money at all?)
I wish that every time any of you guys (Netanyahu, etc.) are asked about negotiating concessions that you'd just say, "It is irrational to discuss vacating land as we did in 2000 in Lebanon and 2005 in Gaza, when our neighbors have demonstrated, right until this month, that the land will be used to launch rockets and other attacks onto Israeli civilians, an international warcrime. Perhaps our associates, the quartet, could focus on ending the warcrime rockets and other attacks, as required in every signed treaty to date, as the documented first step."
Why does Israel talk about housing freezes without proclaiming objection to the rockets?
You've been masterful at pushing these issues around to allow for your country's stellar development, so I hugely defer to the experts. But there are some number of Planetary Drones who hold the rockets over in a separate category, not mixed in with the "Peace Process". That's a bad thing because they think attacks on Jews are a special case and allowable. E.g., the EU streets.
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