Israel Matzav

'Palestinian officials' seethe at lack of 'progress' at 'peace talks'

'Palestinian officials' are seething at the lack of 'progress' at the 'peace talks' as US Secretary of State John FN Kerry tries to arrange a 'summit' between 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen and Prime Minister Netanyahu. This is from the first link.

Kerry and Abbas met in Ramallah briefly on Thursday night. Kerry, who drove from Ben-Gurion Airport directly to the meeting with Abbas, was forced to leave Ramallah because of the snowstorm. 

The meeting between Abbas and Kerry lasted for less than 30 minutes.

Nabil Abu Rudaineh, spokesman for Abbas, said that the Palestinians "won't accept any Israeli presence on our land."

...
A PA official told AFP that Abbas rejected the American security ideas. The official said that Abbas delivered a letter to Kerry informing him of his opposition to the ideas.

In the letter, Abbas also reiterated his complete opposition to demands to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, the official said.

The letter, according to the official, also outlined the Palestinians' opposition to any Israeli military presence on the border with Jordan. The official pointed out that the Palestinians were not opposed to the presence of a third party in the Jordan Valley.

Another PA official said that no progress was achieved during the last Abbas-Kerry meeting. The official stressed that talks between the Palestinians and Americans would continue to try to find an acceptable formula that would allow Kerry to bring forward his plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

In a related development, the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency quoted "informed sources" as saying that Kerry was now working toward holding a summit between Abbas and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Here's predicting that there won't be a summit because Kerry won't be able to guarantee the results and if there is a summit it will be the end of the 'peace talks.' Who will be blamed? What could go wrong?

Labels: Abu Mazen, Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel is a Jewish state, John Kerry, Middle East peace process, secure borders

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:02 AM