Israel Matzav

Abu Mazen demands that Netanyahu release 2,000 Fatah terrorists

Now that Israel has released 1,027 'Palestinian' terrorists, many of whom - like Ahlam Tamimi and Amna Muna - belonged to his Fatah terror organization, 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen is demanding that Prime Minister Netanyahu fulfill a 'promise' made by then-lame duck Prime Minister Ehud K. Olmert by releasing 2,000 more Fatah terrorists so that Abu Bluff can take credit.

Abbas tells TIME in an interview that the promise was made by Ehud Olmert, who preceded Benjamin Netanyahu as Prime Minister and spent months negotiating the details of a potential peace deal with Abbas before being forced from office three years ago. Abbas says the subject of prisoners came up after Olmert twice arranged the release of several hundred prisoners as a good will gesture in advance of peace talks. "And after that I asked him to release some big number," Abbas says. (Press reports at the time mentioned 2,000.) "He said, 'Now I cannot because we have a Shalit deal, but I promise you when we conclude Shalit and everything is O.K., I will give you, not the same number, not the same quality, more.' I think that he repeated it twice in different meetings."

"But," Abbas adds, "he asked me, 'Please keep it secret, confidential between us because we don't want to affect the deal with Shalit.' I said, 'O.K., O.K., I will keep it.' Now the deal is over, and we will ask them to fulfill their promises." Olmert's negotiations for Shalit's release fell through, but Abbas wants Netanyahu to keep his predecessor's promise.

Of course what's unmentioned here is that Abu Bluff rejected Olmert's offer - which he is now trying to put back on the table - as inadequate. And Olmert - desperate for a deal to save his government and to save himself from a jail term - was willing to give in to any extortion the 'Palestinians' presented him.

But wait: It gets worse. Guess who's behind this 'offer.' Barack Hussein Obama. Yes, you guessed it, once again the Obama administration is being more 'Palestinian' than the 'Palestinians.'

"The American envoy David Hall, and the counsel general, Daniel Rubinstein, came six or seven months [ago] telling me that President Obama is willing to give you a confidence-building measures to be fulfilled by Netanyahu," Abbas says. "I said, What kind of confidence-building measures? They said to help Gaza, to alleviate the siege around Gaza, to remove some of the roadblocks, to help you in the C area [portions of the West Bank entirely under Israeli control] and to release prisoners."

"What was my answer? No. Why? Because I knew the Israelis will put it on the table and start to negotiate it instead of the final status issues. But after that, they returned back two or three times saying, Please, this is our offer. You have to appreciate it, you have to accept, because you don't have to do anything. It is free of charge. It will not cost you anything. After the third time I said, O.K., let us start. Of course they didn't start, nothing happened." (See why the joy of Gilad Shalit's release is tempered by memories of an intifadeh.)

Neither the American diplomats nor Olmert could be reached Wednesday night, the start of a religious holiday in Jerusalem.

Olmert hasn't commented yet. But on Friday morning, 'sources close to Olmert' confirmed to Army Radio that Olmert had made such an offer, but the number of terrorists was 550 - by coincidence the number that remain to be released under the second tranche of the Shalit deal.

Army Radio reported Friday morning that officials close to Olmert confirmed Abbas's version of events, saying that the former prime minister intended to release some 550 Fatah prisoners as part of the Schalit deal. The move, the source said, was meant to ensure Abbas remained strong in the West Bank.

There are two things that have changed significantly since Olmert made that offer (aside from the fact that - Thank God - that lout is no longer Prime Minister). First, no one anticipated that Hamas would be deft enough and magnanimous enough to demand the release of Fatah terrorists as part of the Shalit deal. And second, when Olmert made that offer, there was no drive in the UN for a 'Palestinian state' without negotiations with Israel.

I would say that if Abu Bluff drops his UN bid (including UNESCO), Netanyahu ought to give him a voice in the composition of the 550 additional terrorists to be released in two months. But if he doesn't drop that bid, he should be told to stick his demands where the sun don't shine. And similarly, if Abu Bluff presents his 'offer' to Netanyahu as 'take it or leave it' (as he said he would do), I would say to leave it.

And as to the Obama administration, the sooner they are gone, the better. You would think they would learn something from their last stint at being more 'Palestinian' than the 'Palestinians.' Sadly, they have not.

Labels: Abu Mazen, Binyamin Netanyahu, Ehud K. Olmert, Fatah, Hamas, Palestinian state RIGHT NOW syndrome, terrorists for Gilad trade, Unilateral declaration of independence (UDI)

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:30 AM