Who's lying? State Department denies inviting Hamdallah... for now
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters in Washington on Friday: “There has been no invitation issued to Prime Minister Hamdallah.”
A reporter pushed her on the matter and asked: “So the claim made by this Palestinian official is just plain false?” Psaki answered: “Correct.”But lest you get your hopes up, that doesn't mean an invitation won't be issued.
She and US National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said that the US has not recognized the new government and is still waiting for more information on the matter.
“As we have said all along, we will not make decisions until we see the final formation of the interim government and have the opportunity to assess and make a determination about whether this is a government we can work with,” Meehan told The Jerusalem Post.
“We have been clear about the principles that must guide a Palestinian government in order for it to play a constructive role in achieving peace and building an independent state,” she said.
“Any Palestinian government must unambiguously and explicitly commit to nonviolence, recognition of the State of Israel and acceptance of previous agreements and oblgations between the parties,” Meehan said.
She said that “President Abbas has been committed to these principles.”He has? That's funny, I thought the 'peace talks' broke up over 'President Abbas' refusal to recognize that Israel is a Jewish state. Silly me.
To shore up their claim for recognition, the Palestinians on Thursday said that US President Barack Obama has sent a letter to Abbas affirming Washington’s commitment to reaching a two-state solution. Although the language used did not mention the unity government, it still gave the reader the impression that Washington was willing to work with it.
Several Palestinian news agencies published excerpts from the purported letter.
“As I emphasized during our meeting, the United States remains deeply committed to a negotiated outcome between Palestinians and Israelis that result in an independent, viable and a contiguous Palestinian state living in peace alongside the State of Israel,” Obama reportedly said in his letter. “I am hopeful we can continue to work closely together to achieve this goal and further strengthen the bonds between our two peoples.”
Meehan said in response that “the letter was a standard protocol thank-you letter from the gift exchange during President Abbas’s visit to Washington in March. The letter was not new, and had no language discussing the interim government.So who's lying and isn't it sad that we even have to ask? Well, here's my bet. Sometime after November 4, 2014, an invitation will be issued to Rami Hamdallah or whoever is the 'President of Palestine' to visit Washington and/or meet with President Hussein Obama - regardless of whom Hamdallah or someone else represents, and regardless of whether or not any pious platitudes have escaped the collective mouth of the Hamas-Fatah unity government.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Abu Mazen, Barack Hussein Obama, Hamas-Fatah reconciliation, Jen Psaki, Rami Hamdullah, US State Department
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:36 AM
2 Comments:
Notice that the contiguous thing is still part of the wording, too. The US is committed in other words to creating borders of an insecure and easy to destroy Israel. Thanks, ally. With friends like these, who needs enemies (although we got those too, in spades)?
Obama isn't even loyal to the United States of America, let alone Israel. Talk to a unity Pali government backed by Hamas? That's nothing. The Prez just released five top terrorist Taliban commanders backed by and cooperating with Al Qaeda--in exchange for an American soldier who walked off his base and then collaborated with the Taliban.
Time for Bibi to open his eyes.
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