Palestinian negotiator: Netanyahu blocking path to direct peace talks
Netanyahu says Israel it is prepared to take additional steps to ease Palestinian movement in the West Bank in a bid to coax Abbas into direct negotiations.
By News Agencies Tags: Israel news Middle East peace Benjamin Netanyahu Barack ObamaPalestinians responded coolly on Wednesday to calls by U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to move from indirect to direct peace negotiations.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Barack Obama, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in New York in September 2009. |
| Photo by: Reuters |
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat blamed Netanyahu for blocking the way to direct negotiations, because of his refusal to meet Palestinian demands for a full freeze on Israeli construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Asked if he expected more U.S. pressure on the Palestinians in the wake of Tuesday's meeting between Obama and Netanyahu, Erekat said: "The whole world and the U.S. administration knows that the one who is blocking the door to direct negotiations is Netanyahu."
"We are sincerely interested in starting direct negotiations, but Netanyahu keeps closing the door in front of us," Erekat told Voice of Palestine Radio. "Netanyahu must decide if he wants peace or settlements. He cannot have both."
He also reiterated that the Palestinians first want to see progress in indirect talks on the issues of borders and security, and for direct negotiations to resume from where they ended in December 2008, during an election campaign in Israel that saw Netanyahu return to power.
"The world knows that starting direct talks is in the hands of Netanyahu. All he has to do is say that all settlement activities, even those in Jerusalem, will stop," Erekat, a top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said.
"We have had a peace process for 19 years, but the Israeli settlement policy has not changed," he added.
Indirect talks initiated in May by U.S. mediator George Mitchell are about halfway through their agreed four-month lifetime. They are to conclude in September, around the same time as a partial freeze that Netanyahu ordered last November on Israeli settlement building on West Bank land.
Israel said it is prepared to take additional steps to ease Palestinian movement in the West Bank in a bid to coax Abbas into direct peace talks, Netanyahu said on Wednesday.
Netanyahu, however, sidestepped questions in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" about whether he was prepared to extend beyond September a 10-month moratorium on new construction in West Bank settlements.
One day after a fence-mending meeting with Obama at the White House, Netanyahu repeated a call for a restart of peace talks with Abbas.
Palestinians have reacted cautiously to Netanyahu's promise of "concrete steps" within weeks to persuade them to hold direct talks.
Netanyahu said he was prepared to take steps including "additional easing of movements" and some economic projects.
"The point is, we are prepared to do them. But what we want to see finally is one thing: We want President Abbas to grasp my hand ... to shake it, sit down and negotiate a final settlement of peace between Israel and the Palestinians," he said.
Netanyahu was scheduled to meet UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and address U.S. Jewish leaders in New York on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas' spokesman in Gaza, said his Islamist organization "refutes Obama's call for direct negotiations," which he said would only serve as a "cover up" for continuing the occupation. He also charged that Obama's and Netanyahu's statements again showed "there is no hope for change in U.S. foreign policy."
He additionally rejected Obama's praise of Israeli steps to ease its economic blockade of Gaza, saying "we want the siege to be completely lifted."
Tuesday's White House meeting - Netanyahu's first since a chilly reception in March - revived heated differences within his largely hardline cabinet on whether Israel should extend its partial moratorium on Israeli construction in the West Bank.
Ministers of the left-to-center Labor Party support an extension, while hawks in Netanyahu's nationalist Likud and in other right-wing and ultra-right coalition parties oppose it.
The moratorium, which excludes Jewish neighborhoods built in annexed East Jerusalem, is due to expire on September 26.
Ultra-right Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman insisted Wednesday that Israel has not made "any promises" to Obama regarding an extension of the settlement moratorium and that the issue had not been the main one on the agenda.
"We must ensure that normal life continues [in the settlements] for those who were sent there by all the governments of Israel," Lieberman, who himself lives in a settlement near Jerusalem, told Israel Radio.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak of the Labor Party insisted, however, that there was more to the White House meeting than published. He said Netanyahu had shown Obama that he was serious and prepared to act regarding the peace process. That was the reason for the Labour Party to stay in the coalition, he said.
Barak has been criticized internally for serving as a "fig leaf" in Netanyahu's otherwise right-wing coalition, despite the absence of a meaningful peace process.
Direct talks with the previous Israeli government of Ehud Olmert collapsed when Israel bombed the Gaza Strip 18 months ago to suppress rocket fire from Palestinian Islamists headed by the Hamas movement, which rejects a peace treaty with Israel.
In his Cairo speech 13 months ago, Obama said: "The U.S. does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop."
U.S. pressure restarted the process in 2009. But Abbas was politically embarrassed when Obama later retreated on his call for a total settlement freeze.
A report this week by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem says more than 300,000 Israelis now live on 42 percent of the West Bank land where the Palestinians want to establish their future country in a "two-state solution" with Israel.
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A simple plan for peace. As of today. West Bank land where Pals are living they get. They trade some land where the Israeli settlements are in exchange. No major shifting there or is needed. Israel doesn't have some land that they want / Pals don't have some land that they want. Jlem stays as Israel's undivided capital. Arabs and all religions have access right now. Keep it that way. Gaza is connected by a super highway at the south of Israel that connects the two territories. Now for the important part. Not everybody gets what they want. But they get peace. ACCEPT PEACE right now where people are already living and get on with actually living. Stop the hate. "get on living or get on dying" your choice here for both sides.
all they want is to take, take and take.. They preach one thing in English and 180 degrees opposite in arabic. Israel is there to stay, palestinians will come and go as many before them. It is not new when World pays special attention to Jewish people because they are special.
and it's possible to change from an outdated stance on an issue or policy, however this Israeli Government is best for the Palestinians to negotiate a security based peace agreement for the region. I think the emphasis has to also be a comprehensive Middle Eastern peace agreement for it to be an end-to-conflict. How can PM Netanyahu offer any less territory and compromises than the previous Israeli prime ministers - it's inconceivable ? The Quartet is supportive of a fair agreement and its my feeling that most of the Jewish Lobby (who just adore PM Netanyahu) would as well. BTW he's on CNN tonight with Larry King.
he whispered to Obama?...
I guess the question is: is Saeb Erekat telling the truth? If all settlement building stops, can we start peace talks? Is it true? You bet, Israel. Wake up, Israel. Where are the good Jewish values I grew up with - at present, they're very seldom seen. Give peace a chance, and stop the settlements.
"The Jordan Valley and the territories that dominate it shall be under Israeli sovereignty." - Likud Election Platform 2009 Only recently did Netanyahu repeat this fantasy. Right here the Palestinians lose some 15-20% of the West Bank while the Clinton parameters considered 5-6% loss, of which about half should be returned in the form of Israeli territory. Netanyahu will be laughed out of the peace process with such a map. The laugh will be even louder because this thinking is so outdated. The Jordan Valley was viewed by Israel as protection against Iraqi tanks, but Saddam is dead, Iraq has no tanks, and the IAF can put an end to an Iraqi invasion force. The US freed Israel of the Saddam worry at immense cost, but Likud refuses to consider this as real.
Every time there is a hope for peace, the israeli government do its utmost to ruin it and they always blame the other side. This is a classic. Israeli leaders are Obsessive-neurotic-paranoid with delusions of grandeur
first and foremost that is what Israel wants.
mr netanyahu in his statement in the white house was extremely careful about not mentioning anything regarding a future palestinian state. he only mentioned what concerned israel and israel alone: iran. security, its own. peace, its own. never anything about palestine, or stopping settlement building. israel is like a prostitute, inducing those leaders with whom she prostitutes herself with, to comply with her corrupt wishes. now even obama seems to have fallen victim of that prostitute's charms, along with tony blair, berlusconi, and many others, unfortunately. maybe turkey is working hard in an effort to get loose from israel's grasp.
Bibi gave a major speech and declared his desire and intention for a two state solution and peace. The next steps was to the Pals who deemed that not good enough to have peace talks with. At some point if you want peace then sit down and discuss it. The Pals wont do that because they dont want peace they want all of Israel
mr netanyahu in his statement in the white house was extremely careful about not mentioning anything regarding a future palestinian state. he only mentioned what concerned israel and israel alone: iran. security, its own. peace, its own. never anything about palestine, or stopping settlement building. israel is like a prostitute, inducing those leaders with whom she prostitutes herself with, to comply with her corrupt wishes. now even obama seems to have fallen victim of that prostitute's charms, along with tony blair, berlusconi, and many others, unfortunately. maybe turkey is working hard in an effort to get loose from israel's grasp.
Let me get this straight; the pals and their jew loving friends on haaretz want the pals to be able to take back what they previously stole? That makes their claim justified? haahahah.... come on ...enough with this kabuki theatre...this is JEW land baby! we were here thousands of years BEFORE there ever was any such thing called islam. The occupied territories only became occupied in 1967 as a result of the arabs ganging up to make war on israel to try to take it all. They lost. The land that was jordan(west bank) and the land that was egypt(gaza) was used by those countries to attack israel. They lost. If you know you're history, the PLO was formed as a liberation group in 1964...and in case any of you meatheads dont or wont acknowledge this date, it was 3 full years PRIOR to their being any so called occupied territory. So what were they trying to liberate in 1964? anyone? further to this sham, israel offered back all of this territory they legally won in 1967, in return for full recognition of israel's right to exist, as mandated by none other than the UN! The arabs said no, three times at khartoum...you know why? because they never wanted just the west bank and gaza.they want it all...they want land that was never theirs, that they inherited after the jews were kicked out by the romans and which was then lived on by christians and then turks...point being, it was never "palestinian"...in fact, there is no such historical identity as such. Aside from all of these FACTS, attempting to persuade the world that you are a nation ready for full rights and recognition by using terror tactics, blowing up buses, murdering olympic athletes, hijacking planes etc...is not only amoral, it is a clear sign that these people are NOT ready to be granted their own state. I say, give them a chance...swap some land, settle refugee claims monetarily, with pals wishing to return only allowed to return to the new state they create, split jerusalem, isolate hamas in gaza, and then, if even one terrorist attack comes from this new state, all bets are off. Israel will then reserve the full right to go in and squash them. I say challenge the arabs to this and we will see the real truth of their ultimate goals.
And you stole "JEW LAND" from the Canaanites, Phillistines, and others. It is not as if you Jews sprouted out of the ground. You conquered the lands like everyone else who has come and gone over the ages. You are conquerors just as much as the Romans, Ottomans, Crusaders, and others.
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”.
antisemitism is dripping out of you...Stop THE LEAK!!! Your dream world is UNrealistic. Israel in just 65 years became a POWERHOUSE technologically, scientifically, socially, judicially, militarily and so on.. Cannot same the same about islamic regimes..oh yeah regimes became more and more murderous and homicidal...
Prez. Obama and PM Netanyahu " Bothwere desperate to show their voters that their fridgit relationship has warmed. So they posed-smiling- for an official photo. Unlike Obama, Netanyahu did not mention two states." Netanyahu was commited to that peace, He must have meant piece of Palestinian Land that he would like to have. Forget peace it is a retoric.
obama sat in wrights very angry anti white, anti jew, anti gay, anti judeo christian church for 20 years...not six months, not a year, but for 20 yrs! that tells you A LOT! "IF" Obama were the unifier and race healer the mass liberal media made him out to be, he would not have sat in that church for more than 1 month, let alone allowing him to become his MENTOR. His other friends? rashid khalidi, farakhan, jackson, sharpton, soros, brzezinski, power, indyk, van jones, bill ayers, etc...etc... look into all of these people...go ahead...see what you find... WAKE UP PEOPLE. The people in the USA already have ...look at the polls...he is sinking like a rock, people distrust him, he cannot answer the 3 am call, he uses the UN to delegitimize his ally's...in short, this man is dangerous and the scary part is that he oackages himself as somehow rational and centrist. He is not. His FP is a joke, the saudis think he is a fool, the russians laugh at him, as do the chinese and koreans, iran mocks him, syria uses him, turkey has used him... they questioned his experience before he was elected, and sure enough, he is showing his ideological leanings and naivetee on so many fronts...IF he was truly a friend of israel, a great "unshakeable" friend, he would have visited israel already...rather than running to copenhagen to bid for the olympics, or rather than running like a fool to turkey, or egypt. His whole rapprochement with the muslim world is a total farce. He has screwed up the gulf spill cleanup, he PERSONALLY appointed the woman who headed up the MMA and then approved the BP rig just weeks before the disaster, and she subsequently resigned but curiously NO ONE in the "balanced" media seems to want to interview her..... he villify's those that work hard and profit (yah, everyone's a wall streeter eh obie?) suuuuure...he plays the race card when he has to....(the beer summit) he rammed through an unpopular health bill and has lied about having lobbyists in his admin, not to mention transparency....and now, wait for it, more spending, and big tax hikes in the form of a vat coming...yes, a vat that will tax those UNDER 250k... wake up people...this man is not a friend of american freedom and leadership...he is the proverbial wolf in sheeps clothing. turf him out in 2012.
Choose between peace and settlements. Netanyahu will go for that divined greater Israel joke plus that eternal undivided city crap. There is no making peace with people of this ilk.
Both Obama and netanyahu have their own political concerns in their home countries, netanyahu with his crazed rabble in his coalition and Obama his worries abut the upcoming elections. The last thing he needs on his back right now is Abe Foxman and the pitbulls of AIPAC making their strident calls in the halls of Congress. But beyond that, we can believe that Obama areally is commited to seeing the formation of a Palestinian state. The same cannot be siad of netanyahu who has mouthed the worlds but in his actions is frantically doing all in his pwer to see that that does not happen. How do we see that? By his policies in action of course. His first agreeing to a settlement frezze and then his qualifications that existing settlements must be allowed to grow due to "natural growth" and that the freeze does not apply to East Jerusalem which is his attmept to see that EJ is never the capital of the State of Palestine. Duplicious and deceiving, the two pillars of his policy.
His position remains - give us what we want before we negotiate. You can say whatever you want about Bibi - I sure am no fan of his - but one reaches a point where it is more important to work towards peace than complain about his policies.
You assemble a group of experienced Israeli and Palestinian Writers to compose a series of television shows set in the near future that illustrates peaceful coexistence and sharing. You put them together, cast them, and film them. After about three years of watching themselves in situations with positive role models, I'd say it would be possible for most people in Israel and Palestine to really believe they are those people. Collaborating. Working things out. Isolating violent people or extremist types. Figuring out what to do about problems that affect both sides. Image is going to be really important when it comes time to make peace.
The media is the message. Good scripts with good actors showing the public it is possible. Whne I lived in Israel we had a Jewish Arab childrens theatre group that played in Hebrew and Arabic and tried to do that very thing. Amazing what was possible then and so hard to do now. But to implement you creative solution, you would need government approval and support and i cannot imagine this happening from the modovan pitbull and his party rabble or the tribally minded peabrains in Shas.
You assemble a group of experienced Israeli and Palestinian Writers to compose a series of television shows set in the near future that illustrates peaceful coexistence and sharing. You put them together, cast them, and film them. After about three years of watching themselves in situations with positive role models, I'd say it would be possible for most people in Israel and Palestine to really believe they are those people. Collaborating. Working things out. Isolating violent people or extremist types. Figuring out what to do about problems that affect both sides. Image is going to be really important when it comes time to make peace.
Abbas has offered detail proposals. Netanyahu keeps reiterating stale accusations that are no longer relevant while pandering to settlers. No substantive resolutions have been offered by Netanyahu. The only explanation for Obama's new stance on direct talks would be new pressures from the blindly Jewish pro-Israeli lobbies in Washington. Peace still requires justice rather than photo opportunities.
Peace requires justice and also requires to stop incitement against Israel.It requires educate children for peace.It alse requires to show maps where Israel exists even with the 67 borders.It requires to stop terror.And requires a leadership backed by all the palestinians.Otherwise peace can be achived only in the West Bank.
about the actual logistics of the peace process plan and not worry too much about the 10 month construction freeze in the area of Jerusalem and West Bank. Stipulating the borders between the two states is more important and indicates a seriousness in the process of implementing the coexistence between the Israelis and Palestinians. Best thing is not to over react to what's happening on a daily basis - it's the bigger picture which matters in the long run.
Asking for borders first means you are more interested in taking and giving than living beside and doing business with. It creates a new pretense for isolation and build-up of armaments. Its a way to make a hudna last longer until you can destroy Israel rather than enter into a genuine peace treaty. First you change you mind about things and one another, then you divy up the land. The later follows from the former. You can't expect the Israeli's to give up their death grip on the Palestinians until the threat of murder and destruction by Arabs is erased.
Israel left Gaza. Pulled out in the hopes of getting out there and creating peace. They left structures intact. They still provide aid, gas, electric. Yet in return for peace they got a rockets being fired at Israel and a kidnapped solider. The blockade is to prevent more weapons from entering the strip.
This is akin to two people arguing over a cake, and who gets what part of the cake, while one party has a gun pointed at the other and is eating part of the cake, while complaining that the other side does not want to finalize who gets what part of the cake. :) ONLY IN Israelestine (the new state) :)
.... one side sends their children to blow themselves up and launch rockets until the other side vomits whatever cake they've already eaten... All because some Persian guy far far away says so... ;)
Well you cannot expect to eat your cake in peace when it is partly someone else's cake and he is watching you do it - that would be the height of hubris! :)
For decades there were no suicide bombing - what was the reason for the occupation then? The reasons are plenty, when you are dishonest in your approach. True that suicide bombing did happen, but what about dropping a 500 pound bomb in civilian areas - that is much much worst and a war crime - had I lost my family in that way I too would want to die - perhaps if there was more of this in WW2 - there would have been more survivors.
that justifies all the continuing land theft. Indeed it does. Please come up with an intelligent comment.
wow, still repeating the same ol' gripes about the children blowing themselves up. Lame. When was the last time you heard of any suicide bombing in isreal? And how many people have died because of the home-make rockets? (israelis, not Palestinians). Weak to say the least.
of Jews by Arabs. Arab machine guns on public buses in Jerusalem. Suicide bombing is in response to successful Israeli disarming of Arabs. Arabs, in reply, resorted to secret infiltration using the willingness of Jews to allow Arab civilians a normal life and they betrayed that trust and broke the mores of civility by sending children, zeolots, AIDS patients, and mental defectives as human bombs into public places to murder and mayme. This horror reveals the true character of the palestinian movement.
long ago,in the idf:"everything has three parts".well so has this conundrum-one of only three simple options.1-israel pulls out.2-nothing meaningful happens,same direction of events,israel stays put.3-non-existent palestinian state grants israel west-bank and east jerusalem,and the population all emigrate.put siimply:if israel is not willing to reliquish substantial territory,what else can they debate?same principle applies to golan etc.
The Palestinians should not resume any direct peace talks with Israel unless Israel ends the blockade, cancells all construction of settlements, provides the key issues of security and borders.
This issue is particularly revealing of elements in netanyahu's personality. First, a basic principle. If you are discussing with another side sharing the land (or a pizza), it cannot be done while one party keeps devouring the land (or the pizza). So a freeze is obviously a necessary condition for peace talks. If Netanyahu did not think of this ahead of time, he could have gotten a clue from the fact that the Roadmap included a freeze in the FIRST phase. Also, the Palestinians insisted on it, and the US agreed. All this is basic. What decision did the Netanyahu government take? 1. The freeze applies to outside the current line of buildings, not to building WITHIN the currently built area. 2. The freeze will last for only 10 months. 3. The freeze will not be renewed. What do these elements indicate? The first element shows that Netanyahu has some reality, and understands that a territorial exchange is acceptable to the Palestinians, so he takes advantage of it. The two other points are clearly unreal. Was it conceivable that the talks will be concluded in only 10 months? Would the Palestinians and the US even conceive of talking peace with no freezing? I think Netanyahu has enough reality to realize that, but since he was dealing with his right wing partners Lieberman and most of Likud members, he decided to deceive them for now, present a nicer picture, and when the time comes he would try to wiggle out of it. All this shows Netanyahu as a creature of pressure; when pressured he acts, many times deceptively. Ultimately, he is not a courageous leader. He did not fight out the good fight then. Now he will pay some extra political cost for cheating.
It was not agreed to by the PALS! Even if the principles were agreed to, Israel only got rockets in exchange. The pals cannot take the best parts of multiple agreements that they did not agree to and then roll them into an updated peace agreement. The same way that you can't want the offer that Olmert made when it had not been agreed upon by Abbas. Direct talks are the easiest and best way to conduct peace. Why not just get on with the real peace talks. Abbas knows that he has no power to create peace.
Whether there is or isn't a valid Roadmap was not an issue and wasn't claimed. The claim was that when Bush presented his Roadmap, he included in phase #1 a settlement freeze. Why was that? I suggest you munch on a slice of pizza while thinking. It will be good for you if you don't share the pizza with anybody.
The whole Jewish enterprise is duplicitous, dishonest, racist and colonialist. They want to steal 40% of Palestine and they know exactly which 40%. They mean to Judaize E J'sem and kick the Arabs out, keep the Jordan Valley, keep all the land west of the security barrier, drive a large Israeli land wedge between Judea and Samaria, via Ma'ale Adumim. The two separate parts of Palestine remaining will continue to be sliced through with Jewish Strategic Roads and Jewish settlements to 'defend' these roads, leaving Palestine as more than 100 fragmented patches of land. The Jews know that, Obama knoes it, Abbas knows it, heck we all know it.
this so called pizza is not dead, it's alive and there are ppl leaving in it. I agree you cannot take more land, as well as Netanyahu's lack of credibility, but as long as there are 300,000 ppl, who reproduce etc., I don't see how changes within the current framework should hinder negotiations. so it's a question of what kind of freeze exactly. there are different possibilities. which brings to the point that abass is also avoiding negotiations. why?
Logios.. I appreciate the explanation and your pizza analogy does have merit. However, the Road Map is brought up as a key point and is often referenced. It is used as a claim as part of the path. Since you are citing the first phase of the plan and the settlement freeze then the Road Map does indeed matter in this conversation. The settlement freeze was based on a peace agreement. Maybe if the Pals would show some interest in accepting a) Israel's right to exist, b) the ability to negotiate without demanding that they get everything they want might be helpful. The Pals have never shown that they are willing to compromise for the benefit of their own people or to have their own state. Direct talks would be the easiest way to get this started. Why would Abbas not engage in direct talks?.. because he does not have the ability to make peace.
Abbas is avoiding negotiations because he has no ability make a deal or make peace. It is why there has been so much focus on building up Abbas. He cannot make a deal that does not get ALL of ISRAEL and everything. No Pal politician can. The PLO and Hammas dont and wont recognize Israel. To go back to the Pizza analogy.. you dont share your pizza with someone who demands they have all of it and if they dont get it blow up your pizza. Bibi has said and committed to two states. He has asked for direct talks. Wouldnt direct talks be the quickest way to resolve this. Also the Pals must be willing to compromise a bit. They cannot and should not expect 1967 borders and J'lem. You dont get everything back after three wars. Compromise and you can have a state.
Israel will abide by any peace agreement in full - just look at what Israel did with Egypt for proof. Harping on about settlement expansion is a stall tactic.
Netanyahu has gained some time and nuclear reactors for electricity without signing NPT but Obama is still pushing 2 state solution with backing from most the world.
ditto
For thirty years Israel has chosen settlement expansion over peace. Peace talks which are designed to fail provide Israel some cover for this activity. The Palestinians should simply continue to refuse to play Israels game. The world is gaining a greater understanding of what Israel is up to. Time is on the side of the Palestinians.
As long as we know you you have promsed as time and again the end of Israel, well, we are still waiting, but I guess you are just a "false prophet", dumped woman that fights her own demon by bushing Israel. Well you know what, enjoy, because you have becoem a case study at TA university.
Najib, I'll give you the prize for this week's worst Talkback. "Dumped woman fighting her own demons"? Says a lot about the standards at TA University.
talking means time for israel to grab more Palestinian lands and do its Ethnic cleansing.
.....And until every Jew is prepared to pack their bags and "head back to Europe", the Palestinian Authority will continue to accuse Bibi of "blocking peace"... "Peace" being an entire Palestinian Nation in what was once Israel, this is what "Peace" means to them... So yes, Bibi is blocking "peace"... ;)
The Palestinians have no choice left but plan to declare, with the support of the Arab League and the Islamic States, the birth of an independant Palestinian State. Let the chips fall where they may. This part of the world should be shaken up as the status quo is not sustainable. Netanyahu is worried about his job as he knows that is his last chance to be P.M. Obama is permanently running for reelection and does not really care about anything else. Midterm elections are due in November and he needs the jewish votes. The fact that he secretly affirmed that the U.S. will supply Israel with nuke material that could have a double usage is a proof that his heart is not with the Palestinians. He is a big disappointment for the people that voted for him thinking that there will be change. No more.
In other words, you support dictatorship and totalitarianism over democracy. What are you doing in Florida?!
the people voted for Hamas and the US and Israel instead of praising the Palestinian for having a fair and open election put even more sanctions onto the Palestinians...for what...for voting the wrong way in a fair and democratic election...democracy at its finest ehh
Obama is sucking up to Congress Congress is sucking up to AIPAC+ Co. AIPAC+ is sucking up to Israeli right wing fanatics. Right wing fanatics are sucking up to expansive Zionism!
Why is it that we have the same names spouting the same crap over the past 10 years?
This is actually good news, no talks, no freeze, no two states. There never was a Palestine, no palestinian language, history, bupkis, and there never will be.
Whe are you leaving for Canada---you and your hubby.
At last! Someone who actually remembers history, instead of rewriting it!
How about stopping security cooperation in West Bank? And let me know if you can stop attacks against Israeli targets.... You can only appreciate what those people do when they leave. And, thanks to Bibi, they will leave soon soonsooand wish
Pathetic post.... Blindness, denial and racism...
to be a fanatic. As a palestinian, with a history and a language, you make me laugh.
And Petra will never fail to assail our intelligence with his asinine comments.
There is a history of loss by the Jewish people of the land - the Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Romans. It was Darius (Persian) who freed them from Babylon and ordered the temple to be rebuilt - the one the Romans destroyed. Jerusalem was a Canaanite city with a history at least 1000 years prior to the Jews arriving. The Canaanites are the ancestors of the modern Palestinians. Sinful Israel(i government) should be more concerned with its own actions than those of other men? The fear is that history will repeat itself.
Unelected bunch of dictators trying to dictate Israel's terms of surrender as if they've won some prize. Time for them to re-evaluate their losing strategy for 70 years running. They were offered a state 6 times and gave 6 no's, obviously they want neither peace nor a state, just unwra donations. What a laughable bunch, really sad.
Palastinians just want their stolen land back.
Arabs already have 24 states, this land is Jewish one.
You do not steal what is originally yours. You re-acquire it. Most if not all Palestinian land has been paid for in money as well as lives. As for yourself I assume you are an American living somewhere in the USA most likely on land acquired by force from the native Indian population or Mexico. The USA is the prime example of land grabbers.
and the Jews stole it from the Canaanites. What's your point? The Romans evicted the Jews from Israel, the Palestinians didn't do it. Also, it was 2000 years ago. What did you expect to happen? it just gets left empty until the Jews return, or after 1500 years of living there the Arabs would say "hey lets all leave everything we own and move somewhere else so the Jews can have this place"?????? If the Canaanites were to return would the Israelis say "oh, you're back, we'll move somewhere else now". Not likely
There is no such thing as biblical rights. And the fact that there are 24 arab states is totally irrelevant. Palestinians belong to Palestine.
Most of theland was either bought from absent Arab (there were no Palestinians back then) landlords (Israel prope) o won in defensive wars (1948/1967). The land was divided by the UN in 1948 between the Jewish population of Palestine and the Aab population. The Jews accepted the division although they received far less than what they expected) and the Arabs rejected it - launching a massive attac on the Jewish poplation. Sorry they lost.
It was never theirs and not stolen.
in 1896 there was virtually almost no arabs living in israel and there were always jews...the arabs only moved back when they saw more and more jews moving back...but the fact is there has always been a jewish majority in jerusalem and israel has always had jews in fact there were more jews in late 1800's in israel than arabs
israeli dream of greater israel is their aim.
you are wrong. zionist jews have all stupid America for them you know!
There is a history of loss by the Jewish people of the land - the Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Romans. It was Darius (Persian) who freed them from Babylon and ordered the temple to be rebuilt - the one the Romans destroyed. Jerusalem was a Canaanite city with a history at least 1000 years prior to the Jews arriving. The Canaanites are the ancestors of the modern Palestinians. Sinful Israel(i government) should be more concerned with its own actions than those of other men? The fear is that history will repeat itself
Your figures are wrong. Arabs were a large majority before 48 living on their land Anything else ?
That is such a perfect racist and hateful response. It is that exact mind set and uneducated thought process that dooms peace and humanity. Tony, you are so filled with hate that you don't see that you are beyond comprehension of facts, clear thought or rational intelligence. On both sides.. Israel and Pal these people exist. Maybe just maybe, when all people value each others lives, value their kids lives...we will have peace. It is not about just land or what section of land you are on. This could be simple. A simple plan for peace. As of today. West Bank land where Pals are they get. They trade some land where the Israeli settlements are in exchange. No major shifting there or is needed. Israel doesn't have some land that they want / Pals don't have some land that they want. Jlem stays as Israel's undivided capital. Arabs and all religions have access right now. Keep it that way. Gaza is connected by a super highway at the south of Israel that connects the two territories. Now for the important part. Not everybody gets what they want. But they get peace. ACCEPT PEACE right now where people are already living and get on with actually living.
The Canaanites are not the ancestors of any Arabs. At best we can say the Marronite Christians are the descendants of the Philistines as they converted directly from paganism to Xtianity during recorded history. The Cave of the Machpelich was purchased for money by Abraham to bury his wife; that's land title. Even the Arabs don't really suggest they are Canaanites as they were pagans, they claim descent from Ishmael who was not a Canaanite..