And again: Abu Mazen says no
'Moderate' 'Palestinian' President Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday told US envoy David Hale that the Palestinians would not return to the negotiating table with Israel unless the Israeli government froze construction in all settlements and east Jerusalem neighborhoods and accepted the pre-1967 lines as the basis for a two-state solution.That doesn't leave the quartet with a whole lot of options.
Abbas also told Hale that the Palestinians are prepared to work with the Quartet members - the US, EU, UN and Russia - on all the core issues like Jerusalem, borders, refugees and security, said Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat.
“The fundamental reason for a current impasse in the peace process is the decision taken by the Palestinians to refuse to engage, to refuse to negotiate,” said an Israeli official on Sunday.Indeed it is. It's high time for the quartet to stop fawning over Abu Mazen, and to tell him to call Tony Blair when he's ready to talk peace. In the meantime, his aid money should be cut off. That might get him back to the table.
“They have been piling on preconditions that were never placed on the negotiations before [such as a construction freeze],” said the official.
“All the core issues can be negotiated in the framework of peace talks,” the official said.
“But piling on preconditions that prevent the resumption of talks is in no way beneficial to the cause of peace,” the official said.
“It is high time that the Palestinians heed the Quartet’s call and agree to the resumption of peace talks without preconditions,” the official said.
“For the time being the Palestinian leadership is wasting everyone’s time and doing their own people a disservice,” said the official.
I hope Obama is proud of himself. His insistence on a 'settlement freeze' is the cause of all this.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Middle East quartet, negotiations without preconditions
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:13 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home