Abbas: Peace talks won't continue 'a single day' if settlement freeze ends
In interview with AFP, Palestinian leader reiterates Palestinian demand for direct negotiations; Netanyahu said Sunday that he would not yield to international pressure.
By Haaretz Service Tags: Israel news Mahmoud AbbasPalestinian President Mahmud Abbas said Monday that he would not continue "a single day" of direct peace negotiations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if Israel refused to extend its construction freeze in West Bank settlements after it expires next week, AFP reported.
Abbas told AFP that "the negotiations will continue as long as the settlement remains frozen," but stipulated "I am not prepared to negotiate an agreement for a single day more."
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Benjamin Netanyahu greeting Mahmoud Abbas at his residence in Jerusalem, Sept. 14, 2010. |
| Photo by: AP |
The Palestinian leader's remarks came a day after Netanyahu reiterated that he would not yield to growing international calls on Israel to extend a freeze on settlement building in the West Bank – and prevent peace talks from collapsing.
Israel would not risk exposing its citizens to the type of attacks launched from the Gaza Strip since Israel's withdrawal in 2005, Netanyahu told cabinet colleagues at their weekly meeting in Jerusalem.
"I stand firmly behind Israel's security needs, to prevent a repetition of the rocket fire on Israel's citizens from Gaza," he said.
The 10-month freeze, which covers the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem, is due to expire on September 26 and has proved the major sticking point in new peace talks that began in Washington at the start of the month.
Abbas has repeatedly threatened to abandon negotiations if building resumes. Last week, Abbas and Netanyahu - who is under heavy pressure from right-wing coalition partners to abandon the freeze - met in Jerusalem to try and break the deadlock.
But over the weekend Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman completely ruled out a new ban on construction.
"The settlement freeze is just a Palestinian excuse to undermine peace talks, and anyone who seeks excuses will find another excuse even if the freeze is extended," Lieberman said.
Despite the impending end to the freeze, Israel still hopes to avert a crisis, however, and President Shimon Peres is expected to meet Abbas in New York this week in an effort to keep the Palestinians at the negotiating table.
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Put yourself in his skin for a moment. His people has never lost an opportunity to loose an opportunity for statehood and a better life. Now he and Fayyad have succeeded in bringing a better life to the West Bank. And they, and all the Palestinians living there, watch in dispair as settlements fill the small space left for their state, -from which the even tinier Gaza was kidnapped by Iran through Hamas-. Not only that, highways and roads take over lands, sometimes even olive plantations are harmed by settlers. It's just so understandable that they refuse to talk while Israel keeps building "facts on the ground". They don't kill, but they do murder trust that Israel is sincere, just like Palestinian incitement or terror creates mistrust in Israelis.
towards the Palestinians who also live in the West Bank and who view that continuation of this limited building construction as violation of international law. It is not only the Quartet's wish, the majority of Israelis and that of the Israeli Supreme Court which ruled on settlements in previous years, that a halt be in place during the next three months while crucial negotiations take place regarding borders.
"President" Abbas is like someone in an abusive relationship. He will rant and rave, but in the end he will settle down and come home to sleep with his abusers. What a tragedy for the Palestinians?
He had enough opportunity for negotiations. Now Pals have to do some concessions for a change.
Israel simply ignored its obligation. There is no sensible reason to expect anything different this time. Palestinians should not continue talks under such conditions. However it is clear that the PA/Abbas takes direction from the US, hence if they discontinue talks it will be clear the American allowed such a move. That will indicate seriousness on side of the US (and international community), following which there should be true consequences imposed upon Israel for transgressions. The former is doubtful, the latter even more so. However the Global BDS movement would get a boost from collapsed talks and ultimately (without guessing timeframe) international pressure/consequences will begin to grow teeth.
Abu Mazen wants to continue fight against the chosen People. Arabs and Muslims in general prefer war to peace. They prefer to build rockets instead of homes like our people in Samaria.
So what if Pharoah Abbas walks out of the talks? He's already lost the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, and the seam-zone area. By the time Abbas concludes a permanent peace agreement with Israel, his "empire" will be the size of Andorra with Ramallah as its capital. Oh yeah, and keep Arafat's AIDS-ridden corpse at the Muqatah and off the Temple Mount.
Since nobody can stand to be in my presence for more than a few seconds, as much from my stench as from the idiotic drivel I spew out of my mouth, I type away at on Haaretz talkbacks to keep my hands busy and prevent palm hair growth.
My shrink and myself are eternally thankful to you.
Ofcorse the pals dont want peace with ISrael... They simply want her to stop building on there land.. You see the only reason why pals talked peace in the first place was because of the settlers... (The pals got scared when all the Russians started pouring in) Remember... They are going to declare an idependant state in less then two years and want ISrael to stop building on thier land... They could care less about a lasting peace between two peoples... They only want thier country!
We have de facto peace in Judea and Samaria- because we defeated the terrorists militarily and have sat on their heads. Let them walk away from the table: No skin off of our noses. OUR land. OUR army. OUR peace. They can go drink from the Dead Sea- the Jordanian-"Palestinian" side.
The world demands it. So EXTEND the FREEZE and get it done already. Outside of her nuclear bombs, Israel can count on nothing.
I am the biggest loser on the planet. I wish I could work at Haaretz, but I'm not nearly smart enough. So I guess I'll just have to continue flipping burgers and popping the zits on my greasy forehead.
Abbas is acting like a spoiled child and so remotely like a statesman. He will never achieve anything for the Palestinians as they don't know what they want. like kids in a candy store, they want everything. Can't have it all, you have to COMPROMISE people, and elect a statesman to negotiate your statehood!
Lets just end this peace farce once and for all. Islam does not want infidel Jews on land once under their rule. It makes Mohammed and allah look bad as if they needed any help to do that, So iSLAM's and matty's game is to erase ISRAEL plain and simple and this is what the peace process is all about. No peace is possible with Islam as iran's Amadinejad makes so clear every day. Gear up because Israel is here to stay and bye,bye Islam.
Where have you been Mr . President Abass for the last fourty years ?
it's hard to accept, but this time Israel is guilty of the failure of the peace talks. why is so difficult to extend the settlement freeze? if peace process is successful, part of those settlements will remain in israel and Israel will continue building THE ENTIRE WORLD is looking at Israel... and believe me, at least here, many are against israeli policies... and getting worse.... you can be the proudest jew of the world, but nobody can't defend the indefensible
"Israel would not risk exposing its citizens to the type of attacks launched from the Gaza Strip since Israel's withdrawal in 2005, Netanyahu told cabinet colleagues at their weekly meeting in Jerusalem." --What exactly does this have to do with freezing settlements for a few more months to iron out borders. Tell the truth Bibi, its to placate your settlers. No other reason. Israel cant make peace. It doesnt want peace. It knows giving up "Judea & Samaria" means civil war with its settlers.
No israel, No Palestine. One State Solution is the best for all. One Man, One Vote, Equality for all inhabitants. Equal Pay for Equal Work, Equal Water Rights. No Apartheid, No Segregation...A Very True Secular Democrac Let us call it: “State of Holy Land”.
The freeze is not the problem, the Palestinians are. They want a state Judenfrei whilst expecting Israel to retain 20% Palestinian. Hopefully everyone was watching Ramallah on TV when Clinton was there and saw all the new buildings in the background.
let me preface and say, I am no fan of the settler movement. They dont serve any purpose for the state of israel. Having said that, one must always remember how the settlements came about and when and why? if you remember, the PLO, short for palestine liberation organization was established in 1964, to liberate the land. But, as you all know, in 1964, there were no settlements and there werent any until 1967 when israel fought a war to surive and won handily, taking the territories used by the arabs that were formerly jordans and egypts....so what were they established to liberate in 1964????? ahhhaaaa......you see, it's not about 'settlements' and never was...its always been about israel INSIDE the green line....and this is the problem still today. Europeans who know this fact, and they do, brush it under the rug...same for the vaunted american academics and friends of obama, and same for the palestinians themselves...denying this simple fact is cancerous to any future peace deal. so lets stop this charade of the impediment to peace being the settlements...its not, its palestinian rejection of a jewish state called israel. The settlements are just PR for naive westerners and nefarious others who wish to evade the real issue.
Abbas told AFP that "the negotiations will continue as long as the settlement remains frozen," but stipulated "I am not prepared to negotiate an agreement for a single day more."
UN will handle by 9/30
Abbas has been looking for ways to scuttle the peace talks. Must be a resurgence of his mentality from the days he financed and orchestrated the Munich massacre. No difference between him, Arafat, and Mashaal
settlement building means WAR
Only demands - he openly says if all his demands are not met, it will be war. This is not negotiation - it is blackmail. Whatever happened to negotiations without threats of violence? Obama the Muslim and his Mrs Arafat loving sec of state ignore everthing that comes out of the Pal side, and only demand of Israel. Only Israel must show good faith. Only Israel must give and give. The Pals to this day incite hatred and death to Israel, but Clinton has only praise for Abbass.
Many times you have all sung this old song, so here we go again and sing it again of all the trouble it's caused to you my dear friend Mahmoud , One day soon I hope they will make it up to you but until then ........... .. " So long it's been good to know you"....................
Must have other priorities, I guess.
If his settler-friends are ready tp blow the peace-talks just to get on with construction, well, let them take their responsabilities and show the world how much (how little) they care for peace - the Israeli people will appreciate. But Nethanyahou must not give in to their pressure. It's not just about peace and justice for the Palestinians, it's about peace and justice for the Israeli people, the Jews, too. And who can tell if there will be another such occasion within our life-time !
A pre-condition attempts to determine (part of) the outcome of negotiations before they are held. If Israel DOES freeze construction of new settlements, this does not determine the outcome of borders etc., so I wouldn't call the Palestinian demand a pre-condition. If Israel does NOT freeze construction, this DOES change the outcome of the talks. Such a freeze is therefore not a "pre-condition" to the talks, but a necessary condition for the talks to be held. Netanyahu no doubt is clever enough to understand this, but the rest of the Israeli public may not be. Even some members of the Israeli government seem to get confused by this word game. The US is not fooled and remains opposed to construction in the Territories (which is against International Law). Good for all parties involved.
What is Abbas willing to do? Abbas unwilling to recognize Israel, then what peace can ever be negotiated
The steps to statehood are thus (see the Declaration and pronouncement of the Declaration of the State of Israel) . A state is Declared by a non-political body such as the Jewish People's Council. [ http://wp.me/PDB7k-Y#look ] It comes into effect the moment occupation ends (the British Mandate was occupation) The body then Governs as a Provisional Government until such time as a State Government can be elected. The elected Government then decides whether or not to sign a Peace Agreement with another state entity, such as it's previous occupier.
Hopefully he is willing to die for the cause -- the sooner the better.
and the Palestinian people will be able to recognize Israel as the Jewish state once they have their own independent Palestinian state, and not before.
and the Palestinian people will be able to recognize Israel as the Jewish state once they have their own independent Palestinian state, and not before.
The real question will US use real pressure to keep to Roadmap and see if Netanyahu can stand up to his own party/backers or pressure Abbas to accept less.
ABBAS RECOGNIZED ISRAEL , BUT ISRAEL DID NOT RECOGNIZE ITS BORDERS NEITHER RECOGNIZED PALESTINE. SO ABBAS IS A MAN OF PEACE I HOPE ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER WILL UNDERSTAND THIS THING BECAUSE THE ALTERNATIVE OF ABBAS IF HE FAILS WILL BA HAMMAS.
Why jewish State? An ideology centered on the creation of a state for a specific ethnic group (or groups, in the case of the Jews) has no place in the modern world. A "state for Jews" is no better than a "state for white folks." The result will always be the same.
Once a Palestinian state is created he will and so will the rest of the Arab world.
The Palestinians recognized Israel many years ago so I assume you are referring to the relatively new Israeli demand that they recognize Israel as a jewish state.It is not up to the Palestinians to recognize the state as anything other than Israel.
What you are saying is while Israel builds on occupied land (which is illegal under international law, if you like or not it is the case, one day the law will change may be until then this is the case period.) Abbas should negotiate ? It is like deciding and agreeing on a "pizza" and how much should be returned to Pals , during this conversation Israel keep eating the "pizza", on what logical argument you find that request weird ???!!!!! I don't care what you call it, this is not anti Semite, not anti Israel it is pure facts, until the international law changes Israel should stop and give back land stolen, I hope the leader of Israel will see this and action accordingly , we international community are fed up with you and the pal, find a solution and get on ......
Abbas, along with the international community, recognize ISRAEL which naturally means JEWISH HOME taking the name "Israel" into account. Stop making excuses, it is Netanyahoo's government which wants to keep building in line with their ideological convictions which have nothing to do with peace. It is Abbas who has compromised, not Israel. Look at the Roadmap, it states explicitly a cease to all settlement activity. Did it stop? Thank you.
Do you mean recognize Israel or recognize Israel as a Jewish state? I think the issue is with the latter. And when was the last time the United States or any other nation has had to recognize Israel as a Jewish state? Recognizing Israel as a Jewish state sounds more like another political ploy to stall negotiations.
If Abbas recognize Israel as a Jewish State (Similar to Iran as Ismalist State) is abandoning de facto the right of palestinians displace by the creation of Israel in 1948, something that should discussed and not accepted by fact. Abbas as everyone recognize Israel as a secular state..that is all. And he is right there, because if Israel is a jewish state means that any other believe, race and group are minority without any right at all...that will apply to christians and others. If Abbas can be firm on this he will regain respect and support from his people and this is important. Israel as a secular state is legal and strong. becaming religious will be a problem for himself and the hole region.
abbas recognises this position but is trying to alter it by claiming that its his territory that is being built on ! he can only talk to israel if he wants to end the position . the moment he stops it all stops !
yeh, right, he will! sure, he will do that, however he will wait for the cows to come home first, or maybe Pigs fly before he quite his job: a make believe Palestinian negotiating partner with colonist government.
If Lieberman (and other right-wingers) are so sure the Palestinian demand is only a ploy to undermine the talks, then he should put his chips on the table and prove he is right by supporting the freeze to prove the point. The Palestinians, theoretically, would find some other excuse for pulling out of direct negotiations. It's no bluff. The Palestinians want peace--and plainly it's Lieberman (hopefully not Netanyahu) who will do anything to label the process a fraud and force the Palestinians from the table.
but only imposed solution by big Dad will make those spoiled children llive in peace.
How can an Arab be a Zionist as the blogger calls himself? This is the problem with the Haaretz talk backs. Most are Arab Propagandists using Jewish names or titles. Does Haaretz not want to vet the Emails from Arabs. Only the jews get vetted. SHAME.
I agrre, i think it's just an excuse so Israel can undermine it's own talk. Move the settlers home to Israel and bring the land back where it belongs.
at the present jews are entitled by treaty to build anywhere in the 1922 mandate territory. if abbas negotiates territory at some time in the fututre that includes jewish settlements so what . because if he doesnt the quid pro quo is to expel all israeli arabs to pa territory !
If Abbas is not using the settlements as excuse to walk away, he will not use them as an excuse to walk away.