28 apr 2014
Israel and the PLO appeared determined Monday to seal their divorce as Washington's deadline for reaching a Mideast peace deal was to expire, leaving hopes for a breakthrough in tatters.
After more than a year of intensive shuttle diplomacy by US Secretary of State John Kerry with the initial aim of brokering a deal by April 29, Washington's patience appeared to be growing thin as both sides moved to distance themselves from the crisis-hit talks.
Speaking to a closed meeting of international figures, Kerry reportedly said that if Israel didn't seize the opportunity to make peace soon, it risked becoming an "apartheid state," a US news website reported.
"A two-state solution will be clearly underscored as the only real alternative. Because a unitary state winds up either being an apartheid state with second class citizens —- or it ends up being a state that destroys the capacity of Israel to be a Jewish state," he said, according to a transcript obtained by The Daily Beast and published late Sunday.
Apartheid is the term for the system of racial segregation put in place by the white supremacist regime in South Africa from 1948 until the country's first all-race elections in 1994.
Although the process was at a point of "confrontation and hiatus," Kerry insisted it was not dead -- yet.
The sword of reconciliation
But both the Palestinians and the Israelis appear to have drawn their own conclusions about the life expectancy of the US-led negotiations, which have made no visible progress since they began nine months ago.
Last week, Palestinian leaders in the West Bank and the Hamas-run Gaza Strip announced a surprise unity deal aimed at ending years of occasionally violent rivalry.
Israel denounced the deal as a deathblow to peace hopes and said it would not negotiate with any government backed by the Islamist movement. Washington called the deal "unhelpful".
Under the agreement, the PLO and Hamas will work to establish a new unity government of political independents which would be headed by President Mahmud Abbas, whose Fatah party dominates the PLO.
It would recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by existing agreements, in line with the key principles set out by the Mideast peacemaking Quartet.
But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out any negotiation with the new government unless Hamas accepts Israel, forcing Abbas to chose between the two.
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erakat accused Israel of using reconciliation as a weapon during the talks.
"Every day they were asking: what would you do with Gaza?" he told Voice of Palestine.
"So if peace cannot be achieved without Gaza, and it cannot be achieved with Gaza, then there is an Israeli aim here, and that is not achieving peace."
Meanwhile, in remarks in Gaza on Monday, Mussa Abu Marzouk, a top Cairo-based Hamas leader, reaffirmed that the unity government would "not be political."
An unwise response
He said its mandate would be primarily to prepare for elections within six months, restructuring the security services and overseeing the reconstruction of the battered Gaza Strip.
Tzahi HaNegbi, an MP close to Netanyahu, told army radio Israel should "wait to understand the meaning" of the Palestinian unity deal.
"Israel must act intelligently and with restraint, and not to play into the Palestinians' hands by helping them out of the trap into which they have fallen," he said.
Other commentators criticized the Israeli leader's handling of the crisis.
"His first response was: either Hamas or the peace process. This was not the wisest response," wrote Ben-Dror Yemini in Maariv newspaper.
Instead of a negative response, Netanyahu could have "embarrassed" the Palestinians by expressing support and an outstretched hand, which they would most likely have rejected, he wrote.
"Israel would have scored points in the blame game," he added. Instead, Netanyahu's remarks had simply painted Israel as "a rejectionist of peace."
Israel and Washington are reportedly at odds over the proposed new Palestinian government, with US officials waiting to see whether it will embrace the Quartet's principles.
In a separate but related development, the PLO late Sunday said it would pursue efforts to sign up to another 60 UN bodies and international agreements. There was no immediate Israeli response.
One of Israel's conditions for agreeing to the US-backed talks was that the Palestinians refrain from pursuing recognition in UN and international bodies.
After more than a year of intensive shuttle diplomacy by US Secretary of State John Kerry with the initial aim of brokering a deal by April 29, Washington's patience appeared to be growing thin as both sides moved to distance themselves from the crisis-hit talks.
Speaking to a closed meeting of international figures, Kerry reportedly said that if Israel didn't seize the opportunity to make peace soon, it risked becoming an "apartheid state," a US news website reported.
"A two-state solution will be clearly underscored as the only real alternative. Because a unitary state winds up either being an apartheid state with second class citizens —- or it ends up being a state that destroys the capacity of Israel to be a Jewish state," he said, according to a transcript obtained by The Daily Beast and published late Sunday.
Apartheid is the term for the system of racial segregation put in place by the white supremacist regime in South Africa from 1948 until the country's first all-race elections in 1994.
Although the process was at a point of "confrontation and hiatus," Kerry insisted it was not dead -- yet.
The sword of reconciliation
But both the Palestinians and the Israelis appear to have drawn their own conclusions about the life expectancy of the US-led negotiations, which have made no visible progress since they began nine months ago.
Last week, Palestinian leaders in the West Bank and the Hamas-run Gaza Strip announced a surprise unity deal aimed at ending years of occasionally violent rivalry.
Israel denounced the deal as a deathblow to peace hopes and said it would not negotiate with any government backed by the Islamist movement. Washington called the deal "unhelpful".
Under the agreement, the PLO and Hamas will work to establish a new unity government of political independents which would be headed by President Mahmud Abbas, whose Fatah party dominates the PLO.
It would recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by existing agreements, in line with the key principles set out by the Mideast peacemaking Quartet.
But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out any negotiation with the new government unless Hamas accepts Israel, forcing Abbas to chose between the two.
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erakat accused Israel of using reconciliation as a weapon during the talks.
"Every day they were asking: what would you do with Gaza?" he told Voice of Palestine.
"So if peace cannot be achieved without Gaza, and it cannot be achieved with Gaza, then there is an Israeli aim here, and that is not achieving peace."
Meanwhile, in remarks in Gaza on Monday, Mussa Abu Marzouk, a top Cairo-based Hamas leader, reaffirmed that the unity government would "not be political."
An unwise response
He said its mandate would be primarily to prepare for elections within six months, restructuring the security services and overseeing the reconstruction of the battered Gaza Strip.
Tzahi HaNegbi, an MP close to Netanyahu, told army radio Israel should "wait to understand the meaning" of the Palestinian unity deal.
"Israel must act intelligently and with restraint, and not to play into the Palestinians' hands by helping them out of the trap into which they have fallen," he said.
Other commentators criticized the Israeli leader's handling of the crisis.
"His first response was: either Hamas or the peace process. This was not the wisest response," wrote Ben-Dror Yemini in Maariv newspaper.
Instead of a negative response, Netanyahu could have "embarrassed" the Palestinians by expressing support and an outstretched hand, which they would most likely have rejected, he wrote.
"Israel would have scored points in the blame game," he added. Instead, Netanyahu's remarks had simply painted Israel as "a rejectionist of peace."
Israel and Washington are reportedly at odds over the proposed new Palestinian government, with US officials waiting to see whether it will embrace the Quartet's principles.
In a separate but related development, the PLO late Sunday said it would pursue efforts to sign up to another 60 UN bodies and international agreements. There was no immediate Israeli response.
One of Israel's conditions for agreeing to the US-backed talks was that the Palestinians refrain from pursuing recognition in UN and international bodies.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) has declared on Sunday evening its withdrawal from the closing session of the PLO Central Council protesting its final statement that calls for talks resumption. In a brief statement, PFLP declared its intention to hold a press conference to explain its position.
PFLP confirmed that its withdrawal came as a rejection to provide a political cover to talks’ resumption, calling for an immediate halt to negotiation and security coordination with the Israeli occupation authorities (IOA).
The PFLP had earlier called on the PA to stop betting on negotiation approach and to refuse US Secretary of State John Kerry's plan.
PFLP called, during the Central Council's session, for re-tabling the Palestinian issue with the UN, and to pressure the IOA to implement UN resolutions.
The front said that the PLO Executive Committee has not abided by Central Council's conditions to resume talks with Israeli authorities including halting settlement construction, the release of Palestinian prisoners, and negotiating on the basis of implementing UN resolutions.
The PFLP called on supporters of US settlement project to reconsider their position especially after the failure of negotiation path which only led to settlement expansion, escalation of Judaization projects, arrest and raid campaigns, and tightening siege on Gaza Strip.
PFLP's statement finally called for implementing Gaza reconciliation agreement without further delay or procrastination or caving in to external threats particularly by the US and the IOA.
PFLP confirmed that its withdrawal came as a rejection to provide a political cover to talks’ resumption, calling for an immediate halt to negotiation and security coordination with the Israeli occupation authorities (IOA).
The PFLP had earlier called on the PA to stop betting on negotiation approach and to refuse US Secretary of State John Kerry's plan.
PFLP called, during the Central Council's session, for re-tabling the Palestinian issue with the UN, and to pressure the IOA to implement UN resolutions.
The front said that the PLO Executive Committee has not abided by Central Council's conditions to resume talks with Israeli authorities including halting settlement construction, the release of Palestinian prisoners, and negotiating on the basis of implementing UN resolutions.
The PFLP called on supporters of US settlement project to reconsider their position especially after the failure of negotiation path which only led to settlement expansion, escalation of Judaization projects, arrest and raid campaigns, and tightening siege on Gaza Strip.
PFLP's statement finally called for implementing Gaza reconciliation agreement without further delay or procrastination or caving in to external threats particularly by the US and the IOA.
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and Bayit Yehudi head Naftali Bennett at Knesset swear in
If Hamas recognizes Israel, then Israel could talk to the Palestinians, both Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett said Sunday.
At the same time, if Hamas accepts the Quartet’s (UN, US, EU and Russia) terms – recognizing Israel, rejecting terror and acknowledging previous agreements – “it won’t be Hamas anymore, but today we don’t see that happening,” Lapid told Israel Radio.
“We don’t talk to Hamas because it’s a jihadist terror organization that wants to kill Jews, and as long as that’s what it is, we don’t have a reason to talk,” he stated.
Similarly, that afternoon, Bennett told the Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem that the only conditions under which Israel would negotiate with Hamas would be if it accepts the agreements already reached between the Palestinian Authority and Israel and it renounces terror.
“But that’s not likely to happen,” Bennett opined.
In fact, earlier Sunday, Bennett told Israel Radio that if Hamas accepts the Quartet’s terms, it would no longer be Hamas, but “ballerinas holding peace doves in Gaza.”
Bennett described Hamas to FPA members as “a lethal terrorist organization” that has killed more than 1,000 people on the streets of Israel, and he explained that Israel cannot negotiate with an organization whose constitution calls for the obliteration of Israel.
He said that Hamas oppresses women, murders political rivals and throws them from tall buildings, denies freedom of religion and the press.
In an unusual occurrence, Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On made comments similar to Bennett’s, calling for the government to talk to the new Palestinian government if it accepts the Quartet’s terms.
“Hamas is in a difficult economic and political situation,” Gal-On said. “This could be an opportunity for Israel.”
However, she added, the Israeli government is not interested in peace and should have released more Palestinian prisoners and frozen settlement construction.
Bennett said there weren’t any actual negotiations, anyway, just Palestinians blackmailing Israel and making it release more and more murderers in exchange for talks.
The Bayit Yehudi leader added in an interview with Israel Radio that since the Palestinians take “dramatic unilateral steps,” Israel can do the same.
“We managed the conflict for 66 years and we’ll continue building an excellent state even if Hamas and Fatah cooperate with each other,” Bennett stated.
There will not be peace in the foreseeable future, he asserted, and therefore it is important to improve the infrastructure, economy and quality of life of Palestinians living in Area C and to apply Israeli law to the West Bank, Bennett told the FPA. He wants to offer full Israeli citizenship to the Palestinians living there and to inject a “massive investment” into making their lives as comfortable as possible.
He made it very clear that he has no desire to govern the Palestinians. He is ready to let them have their own elections, their own flag, a system of self-government and tax collection, full freedom of movement and removal of security barriers including the separation wall – but not their own state.
Lapid took a different stance from Bennett, saying Israel must find ways to restart negotiations.
He expressed disapproval of politicians using the term “confirmed kill” to describe the end of the latest round of talks with the Palestinians.
“It is our clear interest to separate from the Palestinians,” he added.
Also Sunday, Lapid said Yesh Atid will not leave the coalition over the breakdown in negotiations.
“We need to be intelligent and look at the way things develop. Hamas and [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] don’t decide whether or not Yesh Atid stays in the government,” he told Army Radio.
Lapid criticized Bayit Yehudi’s behavior during talks.
“I oppose waking up in the morning and finding that, every time negotiations move forward, someone announces [building] tenders [in the West Bank or east Jerusalem], which, by the way, are empty offers that won’t happen,” Lapid said. “They put out more and more tenders for building settlements in an attempt to stop any progress.”
Since June 2007 Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip, after it won a majority of seats in the Palestinian Parliament in the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections and then defeated the Fatah political organization in a series of violent clashes.
Hamas won the majority in the Palestinian Parliament in the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections. However, the unjust international community refused that and imposed very strenghthened siege on it and the enclave.
If Hamas recognizes Israel, then Israel could talk to the Palestinians, both Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett said Sunday.
At the same time, if Hamas accepts the Quartet’s (UN, US, EU and Russia) terms – recognizing Israel, rejecting terror and acknowledging previous agreements – “it won’t be Hamas anymore, but today we don’t see that happening,” Lapid told Israel Radio.
“We don’t talk to Hamas because it’s a jihadist terror organization that wants to kill Jews, and as long as that’s what it is, we don’t have a reason to talk,” he stated.
Similarly, that afternoon, Bennett told the Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem that the only conditions under which Israel would negotiate with Hamas would be if it accepts the agreements already reached between the Palestinian Authority and Israel and it renounces terror.
“But that’s not likely to happen,” Bennett opined.
In fact, earlier Sunday, Bennett told Israel Radio that if Hamas accepts the Quartet’s terms, it would no longer be Hamas, but “ballerinas holding peace doves in Gaza.”
Bennett described Hamas to FPA members as “a lethal terrorist organization” that has killed more than 1,000 people on the streets of Israel, and he explained that Israel cannot negotiate with an organization whose constitution calls for the obliteration of Israel.
He said that Hamas oppresses women, murders political rivals and throws them from tall buildings, denies freedom of religion and the press.
In an unusual occurrence, Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On made comments similar to Bennett’s, calling for the government to talk to the new Palestinian government if it accepts the Quartet’s terms.
“Hamas is in a difficult economic and political situation,” Gal-On said. “This could be an opportunity for Israel.”
However, she added, the Israeli government is not interested in peace and should have released more Palestinian prisoners and frozen settlement construction.
Bennett said there weren’t any actual negotiations, anyway, just Palestinians blackmailing Israel and making it release more and more murderers in exchange for talks.
The Bayit Yehudi leader added in an interview with Israel Radio that since the Palestinians take “dramatic unilateral steps,” Israel can do the same.
“We managed the conflict for 66 years and we’ll continue building an excellent state even if Hamas and Fatah cooperate with each other,” Bennett stated.
There will not be peace in the foreseeable future, he asserted, and therefore it is important to improve the infrastructure, economy and quality of life of Palestinians living in Area C and to apply Israeli law to the West Bank, Bennett told the FPA. He wants to offer full Israeli citizenship to the Palestinians living there and to inject a “massive investment” into making their lives as comfortable as possible.
He made it very clear that he has no desire to govern the Palestinians. He is ready to let them have their own elections, their own flag, a system of self-government and tax collection, full freedom of movement and removal of security barriers including the separation wall – but not their own state.
Lapid took a different stance from Bennett, saying Israel must find ways to restart negotiations.
He expressed disapproval of politicians using the term “confirmed kill” to describe the end of the latest round of talks with the Palestinians.
“It is our clear interest to separate from the Palestinians,” he added.
Also Sunday, Lapid said Yesh Atid will not leave the coalition over the breakdown in negotiations.
“We need to be intelligent and look at the way things develop. Hamas and [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] don’t decide whether or not Yesh Atid stays in the government,” he told Army Radio.
Lapid criticized Bayit Yehudi’s behavior during talks.
“I oppose waking up in the morning and finding that, every time negotiations move forward, someone announces [building] tenders [in the West Bank or east Jerusalem], which, by the way, are empty offers that won’t happen,” Lapid said. “They put out more and more tenders for building settlements in an attempt to stop any progress.”
Since June 2007 Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip, after it won a majority of seats in the Palestinian Parliament in the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections and then defeated the Fatah political organization in a series of violent clashes.
Hamas won the majority in the Palestinian Parliament in the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections. However, the unjust international community refused that and imposed very strenghthened siege on it and the enclave.
The Palestinian president Mahmud Abass Said Sunday that although he expects to face a difficult political and financial months, he will form a unity government with Hamas and hold a general elections, explaining that he will begin to form the new government in days. The PLO central council discussed in a close- door session the controversy issues for two days , which include dissolving the Palestinian authority , replacing it with the name of State, peace negotiations with Israeli, elections, security cooperation with Israel , and the national reconciliation.
The central council members backed Mahmud Abass decisions regarding the national reconciliation, elections and peace negations, while the issues of dissolving the Palestinian national authority , announcing the Palestinian state, and stopping the security cooperation with Israel were postponed under Abbas request.
The members discussed the political and legal impacts of replacing the Palestinian national authority with the Palestinian state under occupation.
Abbas said to the members that they could face a political and financial difficulties in the coming months as a result of signing the reconciliation pact with Hamas. He put stopping Israeli illegal settlements projects, releasing the fourth patch and demarcating the borders as conditions to reset on the peace negotiation table, blaming Israel for the failing of the negotiations.
The central council members backed Mahmud Abass decisions regarding the national reconciliation, elections and peace negations, while the issues of dissolving the Palestinian national authority , announcing the Palestinian state, and stopping the security cooperation with Israel were postponed under Abbas request.
The members discussed the political and legal impacts of replacing the Palestinian national authority with the Palestinian state under occupation.
Abbas said to the members that they could face a political and financial difficulties in the coming months as a result of signing the reconciliation pact with Hamas. He put stopping Israeli illegal settlements projects, releasing the fourth patch and demarcating the borders as conditions to reset on the peace negotiation table, blaming Israel for the failing of the negotiations.
Israeli ministers Gilad Erdan of Likud and Naftali Bennett of the Jewish Home ultra-orthodox settler party calls for an annexation of Area C in the West Bank, media sources report.
The annexation would mean that Palestinians in Area C should obtain Israeli passports and thereby, legally, be pushed even further away from their legitimate representatives, the PLO.
Already, the Israeli occupation has civilian and security control over Area C, leading to serious hardships for the Palestinian population living there. They are cut of from the Palestinian Police forces, who is not allowed to enter the area, and building permits are extremely difficult to obtain, preventing the development of the areas. Because of their proximity to settlements, Palestinians from Area C often experience harassment from Israeli settlers.
According to Bennett, the rest of the West Bank could not obtain full independence, but the goal should be to make "conditions as livable as possible," and he was quoted to say that "[Palestinians] have the best life in the entire Arab world, "seriously understating the severe and inhumane conditions that most Palestinians of the West Bank have to live with every day because of the oppressive regime that Bennet himself represents. This belittlement of the Palestinian suffering shows the obliviousness and neglect of many Israelis when it comes to the situation in the West Bank.
The annexation would mean that Palestinians in Area C should obtain Israeli passports and thereby, legally, be pushed even further away from their legitimate representatives, the PLO.
Already, the Israeli occupation has civilian and security control over Area C, leading to serious hardships for the Palestinian population living there. They are cut of from the Palestinian Police forces, who is not allowed to enter the area, and building permits are extremely difficult to obtain, preventing the development of the areas. Because of their proximity to settlements, Palestinians from Area C often experience harassment from Israeli settlers.
According to Bennett, the rest of the West Bank could not obtain full independence, but the goal should be to make "conditions as livable as possible," and he was quoted to say that "[Palestinians] have the best life in the entire Arab world, "seriously understating the severe and inhumane conditions that most Palestinians of the West Bank have to live with every day because of the oppressive regime that Bennet himself represents. This belittlement of the Palestinian suffering shows the obliviousness and neglect of many Israelis when it comes to the situation in the West Bank.
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US Secretary of State John Kerry told a group of senior international officials that Israel risks becoming an "apartheid" state if it does not make peace soon, a US news website reported.
Kerry made the remarks at a closed-door meeting of the influential Trilateral Commission on Friday, The Daily Beast news website reported Sunday. The Daily Beast said a source at the gathering provided them with a recording of Kerry's remarks. "A two-state solution will be clearly underscored as the only real alternative. Because a unitary state winds up either being an apartheid state with second class citizens —- or it ends up being a state that destroys the capacity of Israel to be a Jewish state," Kerry said, according to The Daily Beast. "Once you put that frame in your mind, that reality, which is the bottom line, you understand how imperative it is to get to the two state solution, which both leaders, even (Thursday), said they remain deeply committed to," he reportedly said. The online publication said that US, Western European, Russian, and Japanese senior officials and experts were at the event. The term "apartheid" is a reference to South Africa's 1948-1994 oppressive and racially segregated social system. While both Kerry and President Barack Obama have refrained from using the term when speaking of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, former president Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) titled a 2006 book that he wrote on the subject "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." Kerry also insisted that the peace process was not dead. "The reports of the demise of the peace process have consistently been misunderstood and misreported. And even we are now getting to the moment of obvious confrontation and hiatus, but I would far from declare it dead," Kerry said, according to the news website. Israel said on Thursday it was halting peace talks with the PLO following a unity deal with the Hamas movement, which rules Gaza. On Sunday, Israel indicated it would freeze 19 Palestinian construction projects in the occupied West Bank in an apparent effort to impose sanctions on the Palestinian Authority in response to the Hamas-PLO deal, Israeli media reported. Israel has announced plans for thousands of settler homes in the occupied West Bank and killed over 60 Palestinians since peace talks began in July. |
The Palestine Liberation Organization's central council on Sunday adopted a plan to pursue attempts to join 60 United Nations bodies and international agreements.
The council, under the auspices of president Mahmoud Abbas, "affirms the need for the Palestinian leadership to continue membership of UN agencies and international conventions", the Palestine People's Party secretary general Bassam al-Salhi said in a statement.
The council also said Israel was to blame for failed international and US efforts to find a negotiated settlement to the Middle East conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspended faltering peace talks last week after the PLO and Hamas agreed to work together to form a unity government, in an historic move to end years of bitter political rivalry.
The struggling peace talks took a nose dive at the end of March when Israel reneged on a pledge to release two dozen Palestinian prisoners.
Last November the Palestinians cast a UN General Assembly vote for the first time and claimed the moment as a new step in their quest for full recognition by the global body.
Most of the 193 members of the General Assembly applauded Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour as he voted for a judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
The Palestinians became observer state members of the United Nations a year earlier with an overwhelming vote in favor.
The Palestinian mission cannot vote on UN resolutions but, under UN rules, it and other observers such as the Vatican can vote in elections for judges on international courts.
Israel maintains its position that the Palestinian Authority is not a state and the Palestinian Authority fails to meet the criteria for statehood.
Israel and the United States have lobbied strongly against UN recognition of the Palestinians, arguing that a separate state can only be achieved through direct bilateral negotiations to end the decades old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But the Palestinians have also joined UNESCO, the UN cultural agency, and voted there.
Israel and the United States withdrew funding from UNESCO because it allowed Palestinian membership and subsequently lost their voting rights on the body.
Early this month Abbas signed membership applications for 15 UN agencies and international treaties, beginning with the Fourth Geneva Convention, which defines humanitarian protections for civilians in a war zone.
"This is not a move against America, or any other party -- it is our right, and we agreed to suspend it for nine months," he said at the time.
The council, under the auspices of president Mahmoud Abbas, "affirms the need for the Palestinian leadership to continue membership of UN agencies and international conventions", the Palestine People's Party secretary general Bassam al-Salhi said in a statement.
The council also said Israel was to blame for failed international and US efforts to find a negotiated settlement to the Middle East conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspended faltering peace talks last week after the PLO and Hamas agreed to work together to form a unity government, in an historic move to end years of bitter political rivalry.
The struggling peace talks took a nose dive at the end of March when Israel reneged on a pledge to release two dozen Palestinian prisoners.
Last November the Palestinians cast a UN General Assembly vote for the first time and claimed the moment as a new step in their quest for full recognition by the global body.
Most of the 193 members of the General Assembly applauded Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour as he voted for a judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
The Palestinians became observer state members of the United Nations a year earlier with an overwhelming vote in favor.
The Palestinian mission cannot vote on UN resolutions but, under UN rules, it and other observers such as the Vatican can vote in elections for judges on international courts.
Israel maintains its position that the Palestinian Authority is not a state and the Palestinian Authority fails to meet the criteria for statehood.
Israel and the United States have lobbied strongly against UN recognition of the Palestinians, arguing that a separate state can only be achieved through direct bilateral negotiations to end the decades old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But the Palestinians have also joined UNESCO, the UN cultural agency, and voted there.
Israel and the United States withdrew funding from UNESCO because it allowed Palestinian membership and subsequently lost their voting rights on the body.
Early this month Abbas signed membership applications for 15 UN agencies and international treaties, beginning with the Fourth Geneva Convention, which defines humanitarian protections for civilians in a war zone.
"This is not a move against America, or any other party -- it is our right, and we agreed to suspend it for nine months," he said at the time.
27 apr 2014
PLO delegation and Hamas members announcing a reconciliation agreement to end 7 years of schism
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday to "tear up" his pact with Hamas, saying Israel would not take part in Middle East peace talks with a Palestinian government backed by the Islamist group. Netanyahu also said Abbas's comments earlier on Sunday denouncing the Holocaust could not be reconciled with his alliance with Hamas.
"President Abbas has to decide whether he wants a pact with Hamas or peace with Israel. He cannot speak out of both sides of his mouth. He cannot embrace Hamas and say that he wants peace with Israel," Netanyahu said on the U.S. television program "Face the Nation," according to a transcript provided by the CBS network.
In an appearance on the CNN program "State of the Union," Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would not negotiate with a government backed by Hamas.
A historic reconciliation agreement has been concluded between the Islamic Resistance Movement-Hamas and the National Liberation Movement-Fateh party, after nearly 7 years of division.
The agreement was annouced shortly after a delegation of PLO representatives arrived in Gaza yesterday, April 22, with the aim of striking a reconciliation deal with Hamas.
Former agreements between the two movements faltered as several details within the reconcilation issues (PLO restructuring, elections, government, social reconciliation, freedoms) had been disputed over.
However, today's fresh move is said to be conclusive on the implementation steps.
Al Ray contributed to this report.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday to "tear up" his pact with Hamas, saying Israel would not take part in Middle East peace talks with a Palestinian government backed by the Islamist group. Netanyahu also said Abbas's comments earlier on Sunday denouncing the Holocaust could not be reconciled with his alliance with Hamas.
"President Abbas has to decide whether he wants a pact with Hamas or peace with Israel. He cannot speak out of both sides of his mouth. He cannot embrace Hamas and say that he wants peace with Israel," Netanyahu said on the U.S. television program "Face the Nation," according to a transcript provided by the CBS network.
In an appearance on the CNN program "State of the Union," Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would not negotiate with a government backed by Hamas.
A historic reconciliation agreement has been concluded between the Islamic Resistance Movement-Hamas and the National Liberation Movement-Fateh party, after nearly 7 years of division.
The agreement was annouced shortly after a delegation of PLO representatives arrived in Gaza yesterday, April 22, with the aim of striking a reconciliation deal with Hamas.
Former agreements between the two movements faltered as several details within the reconcilation issues (PLO restructuring, elections, government, social reconciliation, freedoms) had been disputed over.
However, today's fresh move is said to be conclusive on the implementation steps.
Al Ray contributed to this report.
Israeli cabinet ministers on Sunday differed over the likely fallout on the battered Middle East peace process from an intra-Palestinian reconciliation agreement.
Wednesday's surprise deal, which saw Palestinian leaders from the West Bank and the Hamas-run Gaza Strip agree to work together after years of bitter rivalry, was denounced the next day by the Israeli security cabinet.
That cabinet said it would "not negotiate" with any Palestinian government backed by the Islamist movement.
In an address to PLO leaders on Saturday, president Mahmoud Abbas said the new government, which will be made up of political independents, would recognize Israel, reject violence and abide by existing agreements.
But at Sunday's weekly meeting of Israel's full cabinet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again slammed the rapprochement between the PLO and Hamas, whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel.
"Hamas denies the Holocaust while attempting to carry out a second Holocaust by destroying the state of Israel," he said.
"Abu Mazen (Abbas) must decide between an alliance with Hamas -- a terrorist organisation which denies the Holocaust -- and real peace with Israel."
CNN later quoted Netanyahu saying for peace talks to continue, Hamas must recognize Israel or Abbas must renounce the Islamist movement.
"If one of those things happened, we could get back to the peace negotiations. I hope he renounces Hamas and gets back to the peace table, as I've just said. The ball is in his court," he added.
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians, said however that it was crucial to wait and see what sort of government emerged.
"The reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas, was quite a disappointment ... but we decided to wait and see what happens on the Palestinian side when a new government is created," she told reporters.
Livni ruled out any talks with Hamas and said the international community must demand that the emerging Palestinian leadership "adopt the requirements" of the Middle East peacemaking Quartet.
"I shall not conduct negotiations -- direct or indirect -- with Hamas," she said, suggesting that the peace process was not yet over.
The Quartet demands that Hamas recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by existing agreements between Israel and the PLO.
Last week, a Palestinian official in Abbas's Fatah movement, which dominates the PLO, told AFP that the incoming government would accept the Quartet conditions.
Finance Minister Yair Lapid also said it was too early to call time on the negotiations.
"If Hamas accepts the Quartet conditions ... it will not, in effect, be Hamas any longer and then there'll be a basis for discussion," he told public radio.
"We don't see it at the moment, but we need to watch and wait and study what's going on."
Wednesday's surprise deal, which saw Palestinian leaders from the West Bank and the Hamas-run Gaza Strip agree to work together after years of bitter rivalry, was denounced the next day by the Israeli security cabinet.
That cabinet said it would "not negotiate" with any Palestinian government backed by the Islamist movement.
In an address to PLO leaders on Saturday, president Mahmoud Abbas said the new government, which will be made up of political independents, would recognize Israel, reject violence and abide by existing agreements.
But at Sunday's weekly meeting of Israel's full cabinet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again slammed the rapprochement between the PLO and Hamas, whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel.
"Hamas denies the Holocaust while attempting to carry out a second Holocaust by destroying the state of Israel," he said.
"Abu Mazen (Abbas) must decide between an alliance with Hamas -- a terrorist organisation which denies the Holocaust -- and real peace with Israel."
CNN later quoted Netanyahu saying for peace talks to continue, Hamas must recognize Israel or Abbas must renounce the Islamist movement.
"If one of those things happened, we could get back to the peace negotiations. I hope he renounces Hamas and gets back to the peace table, as I've just said. The ball is in his court," he added.
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians, said however that it was crucial to wait and see what sort of government emerged.
"The reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas, was quite a disappointment ... but we decided to wait and see what happens on the Palestinian side when a new government is created," she told reporters.
Livni ruled out any talks with Hamas and said the international community must demand that the emerging Palestinian leadership "adopt the requirements" of the Middle East peacemaking Quartet.
"I shall not conduct negotiations -- direct or indirect -- with Hamas," she said, suggesting that the peace process was not yet over.
The Quartet demands that Hamas recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by existing agreements between Israel and the PLO.
Last week, a Palestinian official in Abbas's Fatah movement, which dominates the PLO, told AFP that the incoming government would accept the Quartet conditions.
Finance Minister Yair Lapid also said it was too early to call time on the negotiations.
"If Hamas accepts the Quartet conditions ... it will not, in effect, be Hamas any longer and then there'll be a basis for discussion," he told public radio.
"We don't see it at the moment, but we need to watch and wait and study what's going on."
Israel on Sunday indicated it would freeze 19 Palestinian construction projects in the West Bank in an apparent effort to impose sanctions on the Palestinian Authority in response to a Hamas-PLO deal, Israeli media reported.
Yoav Mordechai, Israel's coordinator of government activities in the territories, said in a Civil Administration meeting that Israel would freeze 19 construction projects that were approved in Area C as a goodwill gesture at the start of peace talks with the PLO, the Hebrew-language newspaper Maariv reported.
Mordechai said Palestinians had started an "intifada" of illegal construction in the West Bank.
"It is our duty to apply the law on everyone including illegal settlement (outpost) construction in the West Bank," Mordechai said.
The move to freeze Palestinian construction in the West Bank would mark a third measure of sanctions against the PA since the beginning of April. On April 9, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu gave orders to Israeli officials to cut all contact with PA officials, allowing only "security coordination" to continue. The next day, Israel froze the transfer of tax revenues to the PA.
Yoav Mordechai, Israel's coordinator of government activities in the territories, said in a Civil Administration meeting that Israel would freeze 19 construction projects that were approved in Area C as a goodwill gesture at the start of peace talks with the PLO, the Hebrew-language newspaper Maariv reported.
Mordechai said Palestinians had started an "intifada" of illegal construction in the West Bank.
"It is our duty to apply the law on everyone including illegal settlement (outpost) construction in the West Bank," Mordechai said.
The move to freeze Palestinian construction in the West Bank would mark a third measure of sanctions against the PA since the beginning of April. On April 9, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu gave orders to Israeli officials to cut all contact with PA officials, allowing only "security coordination" to continue. The next day, Israel froze the transfer of tax revenues to the PA.
On Wednesday, the Fatah-led PLO and Hamas announced a national unity deal to end seven years of political division between the largest two Palestinian parties.
The deal infuriated Israel, which halted peace talks with the Palestinians and vowed other unspecified "measures" in response.
Israel rarely grants Palestinians permits to build in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. It has demolished at least 27,000 Palestinian homes and structures since occupying the West Bank in 1967, according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.
There are some 100 settler outposts erected around the West Bank without Israeli government authorization.
Israel quietly "legalized" several outposts in 2012, according to Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now.
The international community regards all Israeli construction in Palestinian territory as illegal, whether government-approved or not.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The deal infuriated Israel, which halted peace talks with the Palestinians and vowed other unspecified "measures" in response.
Israel rarely grants Palestinians permits to build in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. It has demolished at least 27,000 Palestinian homes and structures since occupying the West Bank in 1967, according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.
There are some 100 settler outposts erected around the West Bank without Israeli government authorization.
Israel quietly "legalized" several outposts in 2012, according to Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now.
The international community regards all Israeli construction in Palestinian territory as illegal, whether government-approved or not.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The Hamas Movement said that the speech delivered yesterday by Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas was an admission that the negotiations with the Israeli occupation are a fruitless option and pose a threat to the Palestinian people's rights. Its spokesman Fawzi Barhoum stated on his facebook page on Saturday that Abbas's admission of the failure of the peace process was supposed to be followed by declaring his authority's withdrawal from the talks with the occupation.
Spokesman Barhoum described Abbas's remarks about his refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and his holding on to the right of return, the release of prisoners and the execution of the reconciliation agreement as positive and important, and should be supported.
As for the new Palestinian government to be formed, the spokesman said that this government would be transitional with specific tasks and not affiliated with a political party.
He also said that the Palestinian political issue is the jurisdiction of what he described as the interim leadership framework, noting that Hamas's position on the peace talks with the Israeli occupation did not change and would never provide any political cover in this regard.
Abbas criticized, in a speech before the central council of the Palestine liberation organization (PLO) on Saturday, Israel's labeling of the reconciliation agreement as a deal with "terrorists" and described it as unacceptable.
"You have clinched a deal with them at the time of Mohamed Morsi, so there is no sense in forbidding me now from going to Hamas," Abbas stated.
Abbas also stressed his determination to go on with the reconciliation process regardless of Israel's opposition.
For his part, PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Hamas is a Palestinian resistance movement and not a terrorist group, and has a right not to recognize Israel.
Erekat told Erem news website that Israel knows that a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders cannot be established without a reconciliation agreement between the Palestinian factions.
Erekat also demanded Israel to stop its "blatant interference" in the Palestinian internal affairs.
The PLO official accused Israel of using the Palestinian reconciliation agreement as a pretext to end the peace talks, and described its sanctions against the Palestinian Authority as an act of bullying.
He stressed that unless Israel fulfilled its obligations towards the peace process, the PLO would not resume its talks with it.
Spokesman Barhoum described Abbas's remarks about his refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and his holding on to the right of return, the release of prisoners and the execution of the reconciliation agreement as positive and important, and should be supported.
As for the new Palestinian government to be formed, the spokesman said that this government would be transitional with specific tasks and not affiliated with a political party.
He also said that the Palestinian political issue is the jurisdiction of what he described as the interim leadership framework, noting that Hamas's position on the peace talks with the Israeli occupation did not change and would never provide any political cover in this regard.
Abbas criticized, in a speech before the central council of the Palestine liberation organization (PLO) on Saturday, Israel's labeling of the reconciliation agreement as a deal with "terrorists" and described it as unacceptable.
"You have clinched a deal with them at the time of Mohamed Morsi, so there is no sense in forbidding me now from going to Hamas," Abbas stated.
Abbas also stressed his determination to go on with the reconciliation process regardless of Israel's opposition.
For his part, PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Hamas is a Palestinian resistance movement and not a terrorist group, and has a right not to recognize Israel.
Erekat told Erem news website that Israel knows that a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders cannot be established without a reconciliation agreement between the Palestinian factions.
Erekat also demanded Israel to stop its "blatant interference" in the Palestinian internal affairs.
The PLO official accused Israel of using the Palestinian reconciliation agreement as a pretext to end the peace talks, and described its sanctions against the Palestinian Authority as an act of bullying.
He stressed that unless Israel fulfilled its obligations towards the peace process, the PLO would not resume its talks with it.
Dan Roberts
Barack Obama on Friday acknowledged the collapse of the US-led Middle East peace process, the latest in a line of diplomatic setbacks to overshadow his trip to Japan and South Korea.
Speaking at the end of a bruising week for White House foreign policy, the president said that after nine months of pressure from the US, there wasn't the will among either Israeli or Palestinian politicians to take “tough decisions” necessary to reach a deal.
"Folks can posture, folks can cling to maximalist positions, but realistically there is one door, and that is the two parties getting together and making some very difficult political compromises in order to secure the future of Israelis and Palestinians for future generations," Obama told reporters in a press conference in Seoul.
"Do I expect that they will walk through that door next week, next month or even in the course of the next six months? No."
His pessimism, which followed the suspension of Israeli participation on Thursday after a controversial Palestinian alliance with Hamas, contrasted with early reaction at the State Department, which had insisted the moves were simply the latest in a line of “ups and downs”.
Attempts to pressure both sides to the negotiating table have been led by John Kerry, the US secretary of state, but Obama has also invested significant political capital in a process he now admits may have reached a stalemate.
Although also pledging the US would continue to offer "constructive approaches", Obama told reporters on Friday: "There may come a point at which there just needs to be a pause, and [where] both sides need to look at the alternatives."
"So far we have seen some movement on both sides to acknowledge that this is a long-running crisis that needs to be solved," he added. "What we haven't seen is, frankly, the kind of political will to actually make tough decisions. And that's been true on both sides."
But the US administration has yet to specify whether there will be any consequences for either side to resisting its pressure to reach a compromise – a factor critics say is also partly to blame to for a series of similar recent foreign policy setbacks.
On Thursday, the State Department said it was “up to Congress” to decide whether the Palestinian alliance with Hamas, which it brands a terrorist organisation, would lead to a ban on US financial aid.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon also announced it would restart US aid to Egypt, which was temporarily suspended after its military coup led to a crackdown on protesters, despite questions over whether such aid was legal under US law.
Similar questions have been raised over the US response to the collapse of a Ukrainian peace deal reached last week in Geneva.
On Thursday night, Kerry accused Russia of reneging on the deal by not pressuring pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine to disarm, but the US and Europe have yet to announce a response other than to warn of the possibility of further economic sanctions.
Economic co-operation among US allies was also under strain during Obama's trip to Japan, where the two governments failed to agree new farm agreements central to stalled talks on a broader international free trade deal.
Barack Obama on Friday acknowledged the collapse of the US-led Middle East peace process, the latest in a line of diplomatic setbacks to overshadow his trip to Japan and South Korea.
Speaking at the end of a bruising week for White House foreign policy, the president said that after nine months of pressure from the US, there wasn't the will among either Israeli or Palestinian politicians to take “tough decisions” necessary to reach a deal.
"Folks can posture, folks can cling to maximalist positions, but realistically there is one door, and that is the two parties getting together and making some very difficult political compromises in order to secure the future of Israelis and Palestinians for future generations," Obama told reporters in a press conference in Seoul.
"Do I expect that they will walk through that door next week, next month or even in the course of the next six months? No."
His pessimism, which followed the suspension of Israeli participation on Thursday after a controversial Palestinian alliance with Hamas, contrasted with early reaction at the State Department, which had insisted the moves were simply the latest in a line of “ups and downs”.
Attempts to pressure both sides to the negotiating table have been led by John Kerry, the US secretary of state, but Obama has also invested significant political capital in a process he now admits may have reached a stalemate.
Although also pledging the US would continue to offer "constructive approaches", Obama told reporters on Friday: "There may come a point at which there just needs to be a pause, and [where] both sides need to look at the alternatives."
"So far we have seen some movement on both sides to acknowledge that this is a long-running crisis that needs to be solved," he added. "What we haven't seen is, frankly, the kind of political will to actually make tough decisions. And that's been true on both sides."
But the US administration has yet to specify whether there will be any consequences for either side to resisting its pressure to reach a compromise – a factor critics say is also partly to blame to for a series of similar recent foreign policy setbacks.
On Thursday, the State Department said it was “up to Congress” to decide whether the Palestinian alliance with Hamas, which it brands a terrorist organisation, would lead to a ban on US financial aid.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon also announced it would restart US aid to Egypt, which was temporarily suspended after its military coup led to a crackdown on protesters, despite questions over whether such aid was legal under US law.
Similar questions have been raised over the US response to the collapse of a Ukrainian peace deal reached last week in Geneva.
On Thursday night, Kerry accused Russia of reneging on the deal by not pressuring pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine to disarm, but the US and Europe have yet to announce a response other than to warn of the possibility of further economic sanctions.
Economic co-operation among US allies was also under strain during Obama's trip to Japan, where the two governments failed to agree new farm agreements central to stalled talks on a broader international free trade deal.
Taher al-Nunu, the media advisor to Gaza premier Ismail Haneyya, has denied a statement attributed to him by an American newspaper expressing Hamas’s readiness to recognize Israel. Nunu told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) on Sunday that he was not interviewed by ‘Washington Post’ in the mentioned period. He stressed that statements quoting him in this regard were not true.
“We did not discuss the issue of recognizing the Zionist entity, and it is not tabled for discussion on our part in the first place,” he said, adding that the Gaza government would follow up the issue with the American paper.
Hebrew press quoted the ‘Washington Post’ as saying that Hamas might recognize Israel and would discuss the issue with Fatah faction.
Nunu underlined that Hamas was committed to what has been agreed upon with Fatah mainly the formation of a consensus government that would have nothing to do with the political affairs.
He explained that the government would be entrusted with ending the division and preparing for presidential elections while leaving the political affairs to the Palestine Liberation Organization.
“We did not discuss the issue of recognizing the Zionist entity, and it is not tabled for discussion on our part in the first place,” he said, adding that the Gaza government would follow up the issue with the American paper.
Hebrew press quoted the ‘Washington Post’ as saying that Hamas might recognize Israel and would discuss the issue with Fatah faction.
Nunu underlined that Hamas was committed to what has been agreed upon with Fatah mainly the formation of a consensus government that would have nothing to do with the political affairs.
He explained that the government would be entrusted with ending the division and preparing for presidential elections while leaving the political affairs to the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stated during a meeting of the Central Council of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) that the Palestinians will not agree to an independent state without Jerusalem as its capital.
“Jerusalem is the capital of our state”, Abbas said, “Without it, there can be no state, no peace”.
Abbas added that negotiations mean political action, and that the Palestinians want to achieve their legitimate rights through negotiations, the Milad News Agency has reported.
“The current situation proved to us Israel is not interested in a permanent solution”, he said, “The Oslo Agreement was an agreement on principles, not a permanent solution”.
The Palestinian president further stated that any final status agreement with the Israelis would be subject to a referendum, adding that no leader, or person, can sign a deal without a referendum that includes all Palestinians, wherever they are.
Member of the Palestinian National Council, Salim Za’noun, called for preparing a constitution for the Palestinian State, and called on the Palestinian Authority to file more applications to join international conventions, including the International Criminal Court.
Za’noun added that the Palestinian leadership should also discuss the means to escalate and boost nonviolent popular resistance activities against the Israeli occupation, its illegitimate settlements and the apartheid wall.
Sixty-eight out of the 114 members of the Central Council managed to attend the meeting; the central committee coordinates between the Palestinian National Council and the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).
The Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu started a media campaign against the Palestinian Authority and its president Abbas, and started a series of measures meant to isolate the P.A and, once again, withheld the transfer of tax money it collects on border terminals it controls in the occupied West Bank.
Sanctions were imposed against businesspersons, companies and projects that are supposed to boost the Palestinian economy.
Israel wants the Palestinians to continue direct talks without freezing its illegitimate settlement construction and expansion activities, and without recognizing any of the internationally guaranteed Palestinian Rights, mainly the Right of Return of all refugees, and their right to a fully independent and sovereign Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Tel Aviv also wants to maintain control over natural resources, the Jordan Valley, and all vital areas of the occupied West Bank, including all border terminals.
Its illegitimate settlements and Apartheid Wall have turned the occupied territories into isolated cantons, besides leading to the illegal confiscation of Palestinian lands and orchards; large areas of Palestinian farmlands are now completely isolated behind the Wall.
Even during direct political talks with the P.A, the Israeli army continued its invasions, assaults, assassinations, arrests and home demolitions in different parts of the occupied West Bank, including in occupied East Jerusalem.
“Jerusalem is the capital of our state”, Abbas said, “Without it, there can be no state, no peace”.
Abbas added that negotiations mean political action, and that the Palestinians want to achieve their legitimate rights through negotiations, the Milad News Agency has reported.
“The current situation proved to us Israel is not interested in a permanent solution”, he said, “The Oslo Agreement was an agreement on principles, not a permanent solution”.
The Palestinian president further stated that any final status agreement with the Israelis would be subject to a referendum, adding that no leader, or person, can sign a deal without a referendum that includes all Palestinians, wherever they are.
Member of the Palestinian National Council, Salim Za’noun, called for preparing a constitution for the Palestinian State, and called on the Palestinian Authority to file more applications to join international conventions, including the International Criminal Court.
Za’noun added that the Palestinian leadership should also discuss the means to escalate and boost nonviolent popular resistance activities against the Israeli occupation, its illegitimate settlements and the apartheid wall.
Sixty-eight out of the 114 members of the Central Council managed to attend the meeting; the central committee coordinates between the Palestinian National Council and the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).
The Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu started a media campaign against the Palestinian Authority and its president Abbas, and started a series of measures meant to isolate the P.A and, once again, withheld the transfer of tax money it collects on border terminals it controls in the occupied West Bank.
Sanctions were imposed against businesspersons, companies and projects that are supposed to boost the Palestinian economy.
Israel wants the Palestinians to continue direct talks without freezing its illegitimate settlement construction and expansion activities, and without recognizing any of the internationally guaranteed Palestinian Rights, mainly the Right of Return of all refugees, and their right to a fully independent and sovereign Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Tel Aviv also wants to maintain control over natural resources, the Jordan Valley, and all vital areas of the occupied West Bank, including all border terminals.
Its illegitimate settlements and Apartheid Wall have turned the occupied territories into isolated cantons, besides leading to the illegal confiscation of Palestinian lands and orchards; large areas of Palestinian farmlands are now completely isolated behind the Wall.
Even during direct political talks with the P.A, the Israeli army continued its invasions, assaults, assassinations, arrests and home demolitions in different parts of the occupied West Bank, including in occupied East Jerusalem.
