Erekat calls on Israel to release Palestinian parliament speaker
Palestinian, Israeli envoys hold fourth meeting in Amman in effort to renew negotiations; senior Palestinian official says Erekat demanded Israel release Aziz Duek and 23 Palestinian MPs.
By Barak Ravid Tags: Middle East peace Palestinians Oslo accords QuartetSenior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat presented Israeli envoy Issac Molho with a letter demanding that Israel release the speaker of the Palestinian parliament who was recently arrested, a Palestinian official told AFP on Sunday.
Erekat and Molho were meeting in Amman for the fourth time, in order to advance negotiations between the two countries.
|
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat |
| Photo by: Tess Scheflan / Jini |
A senior Palestinian official told AFP on Sunday that no substantial progress was made in the meeting.
According to the Palestinian official, Erekat presented Molho with a letter demanding Israel release the speaker of the Palestinian parliament, Aziz Duek, arrested by Israel a few days ago, in addition to 23 Palestinian MPs, held by Israel.
The letter also included a demand Israel release approximately 130 prisoners Israel has been holding since the years before the Oslo Accord, as well as, Marwan Barghouti, the head of Fatah's Tanzim armed wing and Ahmed Saadat, secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who are also in Israeli prisons.
In September, the Quartet set forth a four-month target for the sides to present proposals on the key issues of future borders and security arrangements. The Palestinians believe the timeline expires on January 26. Israel says the clock doesn’t start ticking until negotiations are under way.
Why Facebook Connect?
Comment on Haaretz.com articles with your Facebook login, and share your thoughts on your own wall.
- Latest
- Most Viewed
- Most Rated
- Open all
Ok, the talks are fake, but it is still a pain in the butt for Israel. A method must be found to make the Palestinians pull out.
Israel and the Palestinians are on deadline to make the quartet smile. The Israelis are faking it of course, but the Palestinians could not afford to sit this one out since all fingers would then be pointed at them. This dreary fakery will go on for a while but it will never even get near the topic of peace. Israel will undertake various provocations like this one and others to come in hopes that the Palestinians would then abandon the talks. This is what passes for peace attempts these days. Everybody, including the quarted, knows it is fakery, but none want to press Israel or they will be forced to take a pie in the face or face the prospect of taking action against Israel.
Can you imagine if an Israeli diplomat was to be arrested in an Arab country and charged suspicion of terrorism? Israel would consider that an act of war, then attack that country and then claim it was "self defense". The rogue state knows no bounds!
which will give the Pals a reason to end negotiationsa and blamer it all on Israel?
Dont worry my friend, Israel is doing its best not to negociate anything without any help from the palestinian side.
It would be utmost folly for the Palestinians to go into negotiations without tying down Israel to a detailed agenda, including honoring international law and all previous agreements. The sooner you stop complaining about preconditions the better. They are a fact of life which Israel has to accept
somehow its seems ok for west to deny palestinians their right.
Well mr erekat all you do is demanding things from Israel. Before you demand anything you should make sure that no missiles fly into Israel, no families are butchered by your thugs in theire beds, no IDF soldiers are kidnapped, non of your children are trained to throw rocks. Do this first...the we talk about your demands. In the meantime Israel will do what ever it needs to stay safe from all terrorist attacks. No apologizes will be made either.
Are you serious ? ahahahhahha !!
The pals use every excuse they can think of to avoid peace.
Abdul Aziz Dweik He and the Islamic Jihad "terrorist cell" that you read about last week.They have been arrested to be released soon after January 26 in a confidence-building "gesture" by Israel
Kinda like asking the Palestinians to stop targeting Israeli civilians. Ain't gonna happen any time soon...
Israel needs to be the Shining Star of the M.East,and not a part of the dark side. I sincerely wish israelis would free themselves of the medieval practices of orthodox zealots and access to an open-minded, beautiful Judaism which is not doomed by Self-destructive imbecilic, self-appointed “spiritual” leaders but full of hope and has a future.
Maybe you're right, Tony. But love has to come from two sides and I think this is just not the case.
for the time being
And no invaders will ever have peace. Don't cry if another Shalit is detained.
And stop calling them criminals if you know what's good for you.
What do you want to tell us? That you don't want peace and will never, ever do?