'Most pro-Israel administration evah' going all out to destroy Israel?
Now that his administration has reached its final months, and little can be done to him personally, Barack Obama is pushing a harder line against Israel in an upcoming report about the 'settlements.'
The report, which is likely to be released in late May or early June,
will focus heavily on Israeli construction in Judea, Samaria, and
Jerusalem, senior diplomats told AP. The Quartet’s report will also take Israel to task for the demolition of illegal Arab buildings – many of which were built with the support of the European Union.
While in the past the US worked to soften some of the criticism
against Israel leveled by the EU, UN, and Russia, now, say officials
working on the Quartet report, US diplomats are pushing for harsher
language against the Jewish state.
One diplomat said the report was the Obama administration’s way of
putting Israel “on notice” that its patience was wearing thin.
Other officials involved in the drafting of the document claimed the
report will also criticize Israel for the legalization of some Jewish
communities in Judea and Samaria.
News of the Quartet report comes amid leaks indicating the Obama
administration is considering unprecedented moves to force Israel and
the Palestinian Authority to the negotiating channel. One option reportedly
on the table is a United Nations Security Council Resolution to layout
the frame work for a final status agreement – and force both Israel and
the Palestinian Authority into final talks.
Because the Iran deal that he rammed through Congress didn't endanger Israel enough.... 'Most pro-Israel administration evah'?
Tony Blair met Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal twice in Doha to discuss ways to end the Gaza siege, the Middle East Eye website has reported, citing unnamed sources.
The website reported on Monday that the pair last met prior to Blair stepping down from his post as the representative of the Quartet of Middle East power brokers in May.
It was reported that they discussed ways to end the Gaza siege,
including the possibility of a rolling ceasefire, and that Blair's
negotiations were being supported by the UK, the United States and the
European Union. Two Arab states and Israel were also reportedly aware of
the discussions.
Though Blair has stepped down from his post with the Quartet, the discussions are reportedly continuing.
Neither the recognition of Israel, nor the decommissioning of Hamas'
arsenal, would be a requirement for any potential deal, the website
reported.
Wonder which two Arab states? I'd bet on Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
For the umpteenth time, the United Nations representative to the 'peace talks,' Robert Serry, assures us that the sky is falling. According to Serry, if the current talks do not result in a 'Palestinian state,' the 'Palestinian Authority' will collapse.
In remarks broadcast on Israel Radio, Robert Serry said that the urgency
of the hour gives him hope that both sides will approach this latest
round of negotiations with greater willingness to make progress.
"There is a growing realization on both sides that it is important
for them to make meaningful progress and to make these talks not just
another round of talks," Serry told Israel Radio.
"I think it is
also a time for both sides to make tough decisions," he said. "If there
is a willingness to do this, then I believe this goal [of a final status
agreement] can be reached within six to nine months."
Nonetheless,
Serry warned that yet another collapse of the peace process would cast a
heavy pall over the political future of PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
"President
Abbas has already been, for a long time, the leader of what is
considered to be the more moderate wing of the Palestinian movement
which is committed to a two-state solution," Serry told Israel Radio.
"Another failure will have consequences for him."
"But the very
reason that in my view the consequences for both sides will be pretty
serious if this fails again gives me hope that they will be serious in
this US-led effort to return to meaningful negotiations."
The
63-year-old Dutch diplomat says that peace is all the more imperative
since the current governmental infrastructure that has taken root in the
West Bank will no longer have legitimacy if it is not seen as a way
station toward a Palestinian state.
"If this state-building
remains without a credible political horizon, that cannot just continue
endlessly, and that is why the resumption of talks at this point is so
important," he said.
"These institutions have been built up. If
their ultimate meaning, which is to be the foundation stones of a
Palestinian state, becomes a total illusion, then we should not take
their continued existence for granted. It should be clear to anyone."
Given that Abu Bluff's elected term in office expired four and a half years ago, how much legitimacy does he have now? How can he possibly make compromises for 'peace'?
Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair says he 'can't be sure' of what Hamas wants
Former British Prime Minister and current Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair said during an interview on Morning Joe in the US on Tuesday that he 'can't be sure' of what Hamas wants. How reassuring.
But there's a lot more here too. And the bottom line is that Blair advocates doing the same old thing that hasn't worked for the last 20 years. In fact, he reminds me of the 'peace processors' who are always saying 'now is the time' when nothing has happened to make 'now' the time.
For the record, Israel is not Northern Ireland. More on that story here.
Finally, there's only one comment there now, but it's a great one:
Does Mr. Blair have comprehension problems? How many times must Ismael
Haniyeh, Mousa Marzook and the rest of the senior Hamas members have to
repeat that their objective is a Muslim Palestine “from the [Jordan]
river to the [Mediterranean] sea” before he understand what they’re
saying?
EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton has condemned Israel for legalizing three 'settlements' that were established in the 1990's, and has called on Israel to 'reverse' the decision.
The European Union on Wednesday stated that it is "extremely concerned" about a government panel's Monday decision to recognize three West Bank outposts as legal settlements, calling upon Israeli authorities to backtrack.
The EU statement is the latest in an international chorus of condemnations against the Israeli decision, as the US, UN, PA, France and Jordan have all slammed the move.
In a press statement, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said that "settlements are illegal under international law, an obstacle to peace and threaten the viability of a two-state solution."
"I am extremely concerned about the decision... in the occupied Palestinian territory. I call upon (Israeli authorities) to reverse this decision," Ashton said.
The United States on Tuesday also expressed "concerned" over the move and was seeking clarifications from Israel, according to a State Department statement.
"We are obviously concerned by the reports that we have seen. We have raised this with the Israeli government," US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. "We don't think this is helpful to the [peace] process, and we don't accept the legitimacy of continued settlement activity."
I guess if you can insist that Israel reverse the results of the Six-Day War 45 years ago, you can also insist that it expel people from homes in which they have lived for 20 years. Maybe they don't teach 'adverse possession' in Property Law courses in Europe.
"I am extremely concerned about the decision of the Israeli authorities regarding the status of the settlements of Sansana, Rachalim and Bruchin in the occupied Palestinian territory," said EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
"I call upon them to reverse this decision," she said in a statement.
...
"The EU has repeatedly called on Israel to end all settlement activity. Settlements are illegal under international law, an obstacle to peace and threaten the viability of a two-state solution," Ashton said.
The chief EU diplomat said the Israeli decision ran counter to the spirit of an April 11 statement by the Quartet of Middle East peacebrokers, the European Union, United States, Russia and United Nations.
The Quartet, she recalled, "expressed concern about unilateral and provocative actions, including continued settlement activity."
Of course, Israel did not endorse or adopt the EU statement.
Meanwhile, the Syrian rebels anxiously await the arrival of 100 EU monitors who will observe the Assad regime slaughtering Syrian citizens. They are expected to arrive in about three months.
The Middle East 'quartet' met in Washington on Wednesday and issued a statement equating the institutionalized violence and incitement of the 'Palestinian Authority' with imaginary 'settler violence.'
"Noting the significant progress on security achieved by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, the Quartet calls on the Palestinian Authority to continue to make every effort to improve law and order, to fight violent extremism, and to end incitement," the statement read. "The Quartet also expressed its concern over ongoing settler violence and incitement in the West Bank and calls on Israel to take effective measures, including bringing the perpetrators of such acts to justice."
The statement came at the end of a meeting in Washington attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Quartet envoy Tony Blair and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.
Any 'significant improvement' in the level of violence by the 'Palestinians' is the result of IDF activity in Judea and Samaria. And any 'settler violence' is being perpetrated by individuals - and not by the Israeli government - and is handled harshly by the IDF.
Outrageous: Catherine Ashton compares murder of Jewish children in France with deaths of 'Palestinian' children in Gaza
Just when you thought things couldn't possibly get any uglier, Catherine Ashton takes it down another level. This is from a speech Ashton made on Monday at the high-level conference Engaging youth—Palestine Refugees in the changing Middle East Organized by UNRWA in cooperation with the EU and the Government of Belgium, Palais Egmont Bruxelles.
We are gathered here because we have recognised the potential of the youth of Palestine. Against all the odds, they continue to learn, to work, to dream and aspire to a better future. And the days when we remember young people who have been killed in all sorts of terrible circumstances - the Belgian children having lost their lives in a terrible tragedy and when we think of what happened in Toulouse today, when we remember what happened in Norway a year ago, when we know what is happening in Syria, when we see what is happening in Gaza and in different parts of the world - we remember young people and children who lose their lives. Here are young people who are asking not to be leaders of the future, but to be taken seriously as leaders of today. And it is to them that we should look and to them we should listen and it is to them that I pay tribute.
Yes, she compared the children of Gaza - who are used as (often willing, or at least their parents are willing) human shields by terrorists - to today's Jewish murder victims in France, to the murder victims in Norway from last summer, and to Assad's victims in Syria (I'm not sure what the Belgian reference is). No official reaction yet in Israel. But for those who read Hebrew, Yedioth (YNet's Hebrew side) has much more to say about it than that last link, and calls the statement offensive. It's that and more.
And one other sentence from Ashton's speech that ought to draw a strong reaction:
I argue that those quotes speak for themselves and we can't fail them. They do not look for excuses. We should not look for excuses either. When I was in Gaza, when I visited Palestine and the West Bank too, I saw the role that young people are playing in their communities and as I've already said on a number of occasions, especially the role of the young women, because the fate of women's rights in a sense dictates the fate of the future of the Arab Spring. Women who've been central to the changes that are taking place and will remain central. It's not just a political or moral issue, it's also an economic issue. The engagement of all people in the future is crucial.
Gaza, 'West Bank' and WHAT? I guess Ashton considers all of Israel, including the parts within the 1949 armistice lines, 'occupied.' And this woman is supposed to be part of the 'peace process'?
Israel's Foreign Ministry has issued a statement slamming the United Nations' representative to the Middle East 'peace' quartet, Robert Serry, for attending the 'International Conference for the Defense of Jerusalem' in Doha.
Official sources said that the Foreign Ministry is furious over the participation of Robert Serry, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace, in the International Conference for Defense of Jerusalem in Doha, Qatar.
"Serry's betraying his position in the UN, just by his presence at the conference. He rarely denounces Qassam rockets fired from Gaza to Israel," one source said. The sources estimated that Serry will be summoned for a meeting in which he will likely be reprimanded.
Reprimanded by whom? For what? What ought to happen is that Israel should refuse to meet with him and should demand that the 'quartet' replace him. Wasn't the 'quartet' supposed to be at least somewhat impartial? Throw the bum out.
The Optimistic Conservative has a full rundown of who is whom at the conference. You should definitely read the whole thing. There are many other attendees about whom Israel has thus far remained silent.
'Palestinians' disclose contents of 'quartet' compromise plan
The 'Palestinians' have gone public with the contents of a compromise plan proposed by the Middle East peace 'quartet' designed to get 'peace talks' off the ground.
The Quartet's envoy Tony Blair relayed an outline of the package to Mahmoud Abbas during UN Chief Ban
Ki-moon's visit to Ramallah this week, but the Palestinian president said he opposed it.
The outline calls on Israel to allow public Palestinian police presence in Area B in the West Bank, which is under Israeli security control and Palestinian administrative control. In addition, the outline states that Israel will ease restrictions on Palestinian traffic in the West Bank, more working permits will be issued to Palestinians who work in Israel and Jerusalem will allow the export of goods from Gaza to the West Bank.
During the second phase of the Quartet's plan, which is scheduled for implementation in March, Israel will release Palestinian prisoners, the Palestinian Authority will be authorized to develop gas reserves off Gaza's coastline, the IDF's activity in Area A will be reduced and Israel will permit the launching of international projects in Area C.
In return, the Palestinians were asked to come back to the negotiations without demanding Israel to freeze settlement construction or recognize the 1967 borders as the foundation for the talks.
Abu-Youssef said that Abbas has opposed the UN chief's proposal, saying that the PA won't resume the talks until the aforementioned preconditions are met. The negotiator noted, however, that Abbas hasn't outright rejected the plan.
The problem with every plan like this one is that it costs Israeli lives.
'Nuff said. Abu Bluff will help us out by rejecting it anyway.
Israel makes border proposal to 'Palestinians'; 'Palestinians' call it non-starter
At the final round of the Amman talks this past week, Israel presented the 'Palestinians' with a proposal to resolve the borders issue despite the fact that it is not in Israel's interest to resolve borders without the rest of the open issues being resolved at least at the same time.
According to the official, Molcho did not draw a line on a map, but rather spoke in general principles about what Israel would take into consideration when drawing that line.
Israel's presentation of the principles guiding its thinking on the border issues, follows a similar presentation Israel gave the Palestinians Saturday night in Amman outlining the principles outlining its thinking on security issues.
...
In an apparent effort to preempt Palestinian claims that Israel refuses to deal with the border issue, the official said Israel "is dealing with the issues that the Quartet believes are important."
He said that both sides asked for clarification from the other regarding issues that were raised. "Israel's position remains that within the framework of a peace process moving forward, we are ready for mutual confidence measures. But the talks must be without preconditions."
One of the steps the Palestinians are asking for is a release of Fatah prisoners held in Israeli jails. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has made clear that one of the steps he expects from the Palestinian side is an end to incitement within the Palestinian Authority.
Whatever Israel offered on Wednesday night, the 'Palestinians' have decided it wasn't enough. They are calling it a non-starter.
Palestinian officials said Friday that Israel's presentation of its ideas for border and security arrangements of a future Palestinian state at a meeting in Amman on Wednesday was a non-starter, envisaging a fenced-off territory of cantons that would preserve most Jewish settlements.
Israel's envoy to the talks, Yitzhak Molcho, outlined Wednesday night for the Palestinians the principles and parameters that will guide Israel's policy on border issues, an Israeli government official said. According to the official, Molcho did not draw a line on a map, but rather spoke in general principles about what Israel would take into consideration when drawing that line.
"He killed the two-state solution, set aside previous agreements and international law," said a Palestinian Liberation Organization source of Molcho's presentation. "Basically, the Israeli idea of a Palestinian state is made up of a wall and settlements."
An Israeli official said the presentation was in line with a framework for talks set by the Quartet -- the United States, European union, Russia and the United Nations.
Maybe it's time to stop making proposals to the 'Palestinians' and let them come back with one of their own and commit to live with it. Oh wait - they might actually have to make a concession to do that, and that's not going to happen.
Breaking: Abu Mazen willing to meet with Netanyahu?
Israel Radio reports on its midnight news that 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen has accepted a Jordanian proposal to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu together with the 'Quartet.' The station notes that this does not constitute resumption of the long-suspended 'peace talks.'
Abu Mazen also demanded that Israel stop building in Jerusalem and suggested that if Prime Minister Netanyahu has a problem with that, he should 'get a new coalition.'
"Insanity," Albert Einstein is known to have quipped "is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." By that definition, the Middle East Quartet is insane.
The Quartet issued yet another call for direct Israeli-Palestinian talks “without delay or preconditions” following separate meetings its envoys had Wednesday in Jerusalem with Palestinian and Israeli officials.
This is the third time the Quartet has held such meetings in Jerusalem, and put out a similar statement, since September 23, when it issued a framework for returning to talks and when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas went to the UN to ask for recognition of a Palestinian state.
That framework called for an initial meeting between the two sides within 30 days, leading to the trading of comprehensive proposals on security and territory within three months, and an overall agreement by the end of 2012.
Even that first direct meeting never took place, because of a Palestinian refusal to enter talks until Israel froze all construction beyond the Green Line and agreed to negotiate on the basis of the pre-1967 lines. Instead, Quartet envoys and representative Tony Blair have come for separate talks with the sides about once a month.
...
The wording of the statement seemed to support Israel’s interpretation that the comprehensive security and territorial proposals were to come about through direct negotiations between the sides, and not be presented separately to the Quartet by the parties.
In a break from the past two meetings the Quartet envoys have held here, this time the envoys did not meet with Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat – who was in Brussels – but with a lowerlevel Palestinian official. On the Israeli side, they met, as usual, with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s envoy Yitzhak Molcho.
Earlier this week, the Palestinians rejected an Israeli call to use Wednesday’s Quartet visit as a time for Molcho and Erekat to begin direct talks.
“If the Palestinian side continues to refuse to negotiate to solve problems to move the peace process forward, then this raises serious questions as to their seriousness and to their commitment to a negotiated peace,” said Netanyahu’s spokesman Mark Regev.
Yes, of course. So then why does the Quartet continue to insist on trying to do this? Maybe it's time to tell the 'Palestinians' that they are giving up and that when the 'Palestinians' are ready to come to the table, they should call?
The Quartet’s original plan for Wednesday was to meet separately with Israeli negotiator Yitzhak Molcho, and his Palestinian counterpart, Saeb Erekat. Israel, according to officials in Jerusalem, relayed a message that this would be a good time to resume direct talks.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s spokesman, Mark Regev, said the Quartet informed Israel the Palestinians were unwilling to do so. The Palestinians are conditioning a return to talks on a complete freeze of Israeli construction beyond the Green Line and the acceptance of the pre-1967 lines as the basis for talks.
“We are disappointed and frustrated by the Palestinian leadership’s repeated refusal to engage directly with Israel,” Regev said.
“They say they believe in peace, but it is very difficult to square this rejectionist position – a position that boycotts sitting at the table with Israel – with their stated aim of supporting peace and reconciliation.”
But the 'international community' will continue to pressure Israel - and not the 'Palestinians.' There are only two possible explanations for this. One is the prejudice of lower expectations from the savages known as 'Palestinians.' The other is anti-Semitism.
'Moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen has once again refused to enter into direct negotiations with Israel, which are the only way in which the United States and Europe will support the establishment of a 'Palestinian state.'
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.
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.
“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.
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.
I hope Obama is proud of himself. His insistence on a 'settlement freeze' is the cause of all this.
Israel agrees to submit proposal on borders and security within three months
Israel has acceded to a request by the Middle East quartet to submit a comprehensive proposal on borders and security within three months. The 'Palestinians' have agreed to do the same.
The statement, put out following separate meetings the Quartet envoys and Quartet representative Tony Blair held in Jerusalem with Israeli and Palestinian officials on Wednesday, said the parties agreed with the Quartet to "come forward with comprehensive proposals on territory and security within three months."
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been very reticent about presenting a detailed map of where he envisions a future Palestinian state, wary of revealing a key negotiating card before knowing what he can expect in return from the Palestinians on issues such as refugees, Jerusalem and recognition of a Jewish state.
Blair, in an interview he gave earlier this week with the Los Angeles Times, was asked whether either side has provided the quartet with a detailed proposal yet on borders and security.
"The Palestinians, of course, did table a proposal in the last talks that they had in Annapolis [Maryland in 2008 during the Bush administration]. They were detailed, significant proposals, on borders at least, in and around land swaps. This Israeli government has not produced such a proposal, and that's obviously one thing we have to explore with them," he said.
I don't know what Blair means. This is from Soccer Dad's Middle East Media Sampler (which I don't have in html yet, so I need more time than I have now to post it).
What is Blair talking about? In 2008 Israel (PM Olmert) made a detailed offer to Abbas. Abbas rejected it. Is there another proposal that Blair is talking about or did he just reverse reality? (It seems that the proposal being referred to is one made to the Quartet directly. If that's indeed what Blair's talking about - and I've found no indication that such a proposal exists, though I haven't looked very hard - why should it have greater force than a proposal offered by one party to the other?
Good questions.... Back to the first link:
One Israeli government official, when asked about Israel's border proposals, said Jerusalem wanted to "facilitate" the Quartet's efforts to launch direct negotiations without preconditions. He stressed, however, that it was important that the Quartet meetings now don't become a substitute for direct negotiations between the sides, but only as a way to get those talks started.
Blair explained in his interview that what the Quartet was trying to do was get detailed proposals from both sides on borders and security to gauge how wide the gaps between the sides were, and whether there was a basis for negotiation.
What will they do if there is no 'basis for negotiation'? Or worse, what if they come out and say that we have an agreement on borders and security and then the 'Palestinians' say they demand the 'right of return' for millions of 'refugees'? What could go wrong?
There’s little doubt that the transition to democracy is in danger. But the fault lies not with protesting Copts, Islamic fundamentalists or others who have been organizing and agitating for change in Cairo, but with the military regime. The 24 senior officers on the ruling council have repeatedly said that they wish to hand over power to civilians as soon as possible. But they keep extending their time: Having at first promised to carry out a transition by last month, they now are talking about a timetable that would keep them in office for at least a year, and maybe much longer.While they linger, the generals misrule. They have subjected thousands of civilians to unfair military trials, intimidated the media and spooked tourists and foreign investors with erratic economic decisions, including the rejection of much-needed foreign loans. They issue laws and even constitutional amendments, then abruptly change them. They have failed to protect Christian churches and the Israeli embassy, which was sacked by a mob of thugs as police stood by. They then cite such outbreaks of violence as justification for still more repression — including the extension of the previous regime’s autocratic emergency law.
Yes there's something disturbing about the behavior of Egypt's military. But once the military council surrenders power, there's no reason to assume that democracy will prevail. While the Muslim Brotherhood might not achieve power on its own, it will influence how Egypt is run and will use its first election as basis for expanding its influence and power. However the military council is manipulating the foment for its own purposes, it appears that the attacks on the Copts come from Islamists.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is an infuriating character. Just when you think you have got him neatly categorized as a pretentious, self-seeking political wrecker, he does something right and brave.Maybe he has acted for no more noble a motive than consideration for his American royalties and lecture fees, but anyway he has stood up and unequivocally opposed Mahmoud Abbas's bid for full recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN."You can pass whatever resolution you like at the United Nations or the Security Council, it doesn't actually deliver you a state on the ground in the West Bank and Gaza, and if you don't have a negotiation, whatever you do at the UN is going to be deeply confrontational," Blair, who is the international community's official Middle East representative, was quoted as saying.
The Palestinians have strongly slammed Blair for his support to Israel's demands to resume the peace talks with the Palestinians. The Palestinian leadership insists that any direct or indirect peace talks with Israel must be based on two major conditions, a full Israeli cessation of settlement construction and a recognition of a Palestinian state on the 1967 territories.
The lack of negotiations is not because of anything Israel did or did not do. It's the because the Palestinians are insisting on preconditions before returning to talks. The crisis, if it is one, can be resolved by bringing pressure on the Palestinians to drop the preconditions. It's amazing that the Palestinians preconditions aren't bigger news.
The preconditions aren't bigger news because the media is biased against Israel and therefore are under-reporting them.
Prime Minister Netanyahu accepted the Middle East Quartet's proposal for unconditional talks. The 'Palestinians' have responded by demanding that Israel suspend building in 'settlements' and accept the '1967 borders' before returning to the negotiating table.
"Israel welcomes the Quartet's call for direct negotiations without pre-conditions with the Palestinian Authority, which was already suggested by US president Barack Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, even though Israel has a number of reservations which it will bring up in the negotiations."
...
Netanyahu has in the past objected to the idea – as presented in the Quartet proposal – of isolating security and territories from the other core issues of Jerusalem and refugees, saying that if an agreement on the territorial issue was reached, the Palestinians would have no incentive to compromise later on the issues of refugees and Jerusalem. Rather, his position in the past was that all issues should be discussed simultaneously.
Over the weekend, the Palestinians expressed opposition to the Quartet's "vague statement" and stressed they will not accept lengthy negotiations. Fatah official Nabil Shaath said: "The international community must take harsh and clear steps to point out the terms of negotiations and take harsh steps against those who violate them; but we, the Palestinians, are the only ones being punished when we break the terms. "
The Palestinian Authority will return to the negotiating table with Israel only if it stops building in the settlements and accepts the pre-1967 lines as the basis for a two-state solution, Nabil Abu Rudaineh, a spokesman for PA President Mahmoud Abbas, said on Sunday.
In response to Israel's acceptance of the most recent Quartet proposal for resuming the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Abu Rudaineh said: "If Israel is serious, it must abide, without reservations, by international legitimacy as mentioned in the Road Map, UN resolutions and the Arab peace initiative."
Although the PA last week said that proposal contained "encouraging elements," a top PA official in Ramallah told The Jerusalem Post that the plan was biased in favor of Israel. The official said that the timing of the publication of the proposal was "suspicious" because it coincided with Abbas's request for membership in the UN.
"The Quartet has lost its credibility, mainly because of its failure to force Israel to stop building in the settlements," the official told the Post.
The official also condemned Quartet envoy Tony Blair as a "servant of the Israeli government" and hinted that the former British prime minister was "no longer welcome in Ramallah. We prefer not to see him here again."
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat also announced that the PA would not return to the peace talks without the two pre-conditions - cessation of settlement construction and acceptance of the pre-1967 lines as the basis for a two-state solution.
Erekat told reporters in Cairo after meeting with Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elarabi that when the PA talks about a settlement freeze, it is also referring to natural growth in these communities and the construction of new housing projects in east Jerusalem.
Erekat said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's response to the Quartet proposal has been "1,100 No's" by approving tenders for building 1,000 housing units in Jerusalem's Gilo neighborhood last week.
Noting that the Quartet proposal talks about freezing settlement construction [as part of the Road Map], Erekat criticized the Americans and Europeans for "only condemning" Israel's actions.
Still waiting for the Democrats to criticize the 'Palestinians' for defying Obama....
But we should all point out that Netanyahu has abided by Obama's wishes and that he should now smell clean as a rose on Pennsylvania Avenue.... What could go wrong?
There's a lot for Israel not to like in the latest quartet proposal for Middle East 'peace talks,' but here's the bottom line: It may not matter, because the 'Palestinians' have already indicated that they will reject it.
The Quartet statement urged the parties “to overcome the current obstacles and resume direct bilateral Israeli-Palestinian negotiations without delay or preconditions.”
Acknowledging that talks by themselves will not reestablish trust, the Quartet proposed the following: a “preparatory meeting” between the parties within a month to agree to an agenda and a “method of proceeding in the negotiation.” The two sides will commit that the objective is to “reach an agreement within a time frame agreed to by the parties but not longer than the end of 2012.”
The statement said the expectation is that the parties will come up with comprehensive proposal on territory and security with three months, and will have made “substantial progress” within six months. To facilitate this, an international conference will be held in Moscow “at the appropriate time.”
The statement also called for another donors conference to help the PA state-building efforts. In addition, “the members of the Quartet will consult to identify additional steps they can actively support towards Palestinian statehood individually and together, to secure in accordance with existing procedures significantly greater independence and sovereignty for the Palestinian Authority over its affairs.”
In what could be interpreted as a veiled reference to settlement construction, the statement continued: “The Quartet calls upon the parties to refrain from provocative actions if negotiations are to be effective. The Quartet reiterated the obligations of both parties under the road map.”
The 'Palestinians' have already rejected the quartet proposal. It doesn't fulfill their preconditions.
The PA was quick to reject the Quartet’s proposal.
Its Foreign Minister Riad Malki said on Saturday that the Quartet’s initiative is “incomplete.” He pointed out that it does not call for a cessation of settlement construction or a pullout to the pre- 1967 lines.
“The only new thing that the Quartet carries is a time line for discussing the issues of security and borders,” Malki said, referring to the Quartet’s statement calling for an agreement by December 2012.
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the PA leadership would discuss the Quartet initiative in the coming days.
A number of Palestinian factions, including Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine also rejected the Quartet plan, saying it was designed to “foil” Palestinian aspirations for independence.
And of course that means more pressure for another round of unilateral Israeli concessions.
In an interview on Friday with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Netanyahu – after being asked a number of times if he would consider another settlement freeze – said that he tried that once, and it went nowhere, but added, “I am willing to talk about it.”
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni (Kadima) said following Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ speeches to the UN General Assembly on Friday that the two leaders “look like they are standing on two separate icebergs, yelling at each other.”
“Two leaders stood on the UN stage, each talking to his own people, telling his historical story and blaming the other,” Livni wrote on her Facebook page. “After the speeches, I hope that more Israelis have not lost hope.”
“Do not raise your hands or lose hope, because there is another way, and together we can change Israel’s direction,” the Kadima leader added.
“This is a time for actions, not talk,” MK Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) added. “The choice is between negotiations or a conflict. We are witnessing one of the State of Israel’s most difficult hours on the international stage.”
Mofaz called upon Netanyahu to “take advantage of the narrow window of opportunity and the small amount of international credit we have left and adopt the diplomatic plan that calls for borders and security arrangements.”
“The power of speeches is not enough to change reality,” he added. “That is the job of a leader. I call upon the prime minister to act, for the future and security of the State of Israel.”
Labor leader MK Shelly Yacimovich said that “Abbas’ speech was difficult, and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech was eloquent, but speeches cannot replace policy.”
“Netanyahu should have realized that Israel hit a dangerous dead end, and it is the government’s responsibility to take initiative and not just describe the bad situation in a speech,” the newly-elected Labor leader said.
“Netanyahu’s call for Abbas to meet with him for peace talks is right, but now we have to actively lead with actions and not just words.”
“We must make a two-state solution a reality, in order to prevent a unilaterally declared Palestinian state that will surely cause us harm,” Yacimovich added.
Given that the 'Palestinians' will not come to the table, what is the opposition suggesting? That we unilaterally declare a 'Palestinian state' to prevent the 'Palestinians' from doing so? What could go wrong?
Saeb accuses quartet of succumbing to 'Israeli pressure'
The 'Palestinians' might have been better off if Saeb Erekat really had retired a few months ago. His temper tantrums are becoming an embarrassment.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat accused the Quartet of succumbing to Israeli “pressure.” He said that it was high time that the US Administration stopped treating Israel as if it were a state above the law.
He added that the Israeli government alone bears full responsibility for the collapse of the peace process.
According to Erekat, the international community should now support the PA’s statehood bid in wake of the failure of the Quartet to issue a statement on the peace process.
Abbas said that the failure of the Quartet to issue a statement was a “bad sign because it shows that there are differences between them.”
Abbas, who was speaking to reporters after meeting with Greek President Karolos Papoulias, said that the PA wanted to see the Quartet members in agreement “so that we could go to our basic option, which is returning to the negotiations.”
Abbas added that the PA would return to the negotiating table once the Quartet agreed on the issues of settlements and the borders of a Palestinian state. “If they don’t reach agreement, we will then go to the United Nations,” he said.
He expressed hope that the US would then refrain from using the veto to thwart such a move. “We hope we will go to the United Nations in agreement with the Americans,” he said.
Abbas said that as of now the PA’s position remains that it will go to the UN in September to ask for recognition of a state on the pre-1967 lines “if efforts to resume the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations fail.”
The path of negotiations is facing many difficulties because of Israel’s refusal to accept the signed agreements and creating new illegal facts on the ground, the PA president said.
“These actions threaten and discredits the peace process,” Abbas charged. “Therefore we are looking forward to the entire international community to assume its role in pushing the peace process forward by emphasizing the need to abide by the two-state solution and rejecting Israel’s settlement policy.”
He said that in the end the Palestinians would triumph “because ours is a just cause and we will enjoy stability and prosperity in an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Let's not gloat too much. Someone tweeted last night that the reason they didn't issue a statement was because they couldn't agree over whether to say that Israel is a Jewish state. The quartet - or at least some of them - are not exactly in our court.
The Middle East 'quartet' met over dinner for two hours and 15 minutes in Washington on Monday night and ended without making any progress. They did not even issue a statement.
The Quartet wants to find a way to resume talks and to avert a diplomatic showdown expected at the United Nations in September, when the Palestinians may seek wider international recognition for a Palestinian state.
"There are still gaps that are impeding progress," said a senior Obama administration official who briefed reporters after the meeting on condition of anonymity. "Realistically ... more work needs to be done to close those gaps."
"There is a time and a place for public statements and there is a time and a place for private diplomacy," he added. "We need to do more work, privately, quietly, with the parties, in order to see if we can't close these gaps."
The official declined to discuss the nature of the gaps and he said the Quartet perceives "an urgent need to appeal to the parties to overcome current obstacles and find a way to resume direct negotiations without delay or preconditions."
Given Israel's expectations from this meeting, I suppose we ought to be pleased with this result.
UPDATE 11:22 AM
So here's the bad news. Israel Radio reports that the quartet will meet again on Tuesday in an effort to reach an agreed statement, and that all parties present voiced approval for President Obama's call for a 'Palestinian state' on the '1967 lines' with 'agreed swaps.'
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
