Israel Matzav

'No Israeli government could accept this!'

An Israeli diplomatic source said on Sunday that the 'peace talks' with the 'Palestinians' are off for now, as Israel waits to see whether Hamas and Fatah form a unity government. Israel will not talk to a government that includes Hamas.

Reading - for the first time that I can recall - a detailed account of the talks with Fatah, I have to wonder why we would talk to a government that includes Fatah either.

The Palestinians spelled out their territorial demands to Israel: 98.1 percent of the West Bank, something that would mean that the large settlement blocs would not remain under Israeli control, according to the source.

The PA presented Israel with their documents – one dealing with territory, and another with security – at the first meeting on January 4. According to the source, the Palestinian security document did not deal with Israel’s security demands, but rather discussed how the Palestinians envisioned their own internal security in their state.

The source termed the Palestinian positions – both on security and territory – as “nonstarters.”

Israel did not provide the Palestinians with a territorial counter-offer, beyond saying that it was guided by the following principle: Most of the Jews currently living in Judea and Samaria would come under Israeli control, while most of the Palestinians there would end up in a Palestinian state. Another guiding principle that Israel presented was: the issue of Jerusalem should be left to the end and dealt with separately because it is so complicated.

At the second of the four meetings, Israel asked the Palestinians 19 questions regarding the Palestinian positions, including what – in their thinking – was to happen to the Jews living in the West Bank, and whether they would be uprooted or become citizens of a future Palestinians state. Another question was what would happen if Fatah and Hamas sign an agreement.

The Palestinians did not answer the first question, and regarding the second, said the PA would create a strong democracy, the source said.

As to Jerusalem’s demand that Israel retain a presence in the Jordan Valley, the Palestinians, according to the source, said they would not allow an Israeli presence anywhere.

The source added that while the idea of the talks in Jordan was to generate a positive dynamic and create confidence, the positions put forth by the Palestinians “harmed confidence,” and that no Israeli government could “accept them.”

But 'everyone knows' what the 'solution' is, don't they?

Labels: final status negotiations, Hamas-Fatah reconciliation

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:45 AM