Abbas to Haaretz: Peace possible in 6 months if Israel freezes all settlements

"He [Abbas] lacks the credibility. No one would follow him." (harzion) Poor tiny Israel, surrounded by intractable and murderous enemies, all alone in this cruel world of Jews-haters, without any real friend, forced to keep occupying, against its own will, the foreign and stateless population it has, unwittingly, taken control of, 42 years ago. Israeli decision-makers, my heart goes with you. "abbas is a weak man." (harzion) When the enemy of your enemy is weak, don't call him 'irrelevant', HELP HIM, damn it !!! He may be weak, but he still rules over more Palestinians than Ismail Haniyeh.

Bush's views on Saddam's WMD's were supported by all our decision-makers. Funny how he was telling the truth only when it suited their ambitions. GW Bush on Mahmoud Abbas: You are free of course to not believe him. But then you surely have come to the only logical conclusion, which is that since the White House is now home and leftist loony liars for the third time in a row - it is more than just a passing trend, and the Jewish state, left to its own in this cruel world, has no future. Unless, of course, you believe, like some other posters here, in divine intervention in the affairs of a UN state member.

"Do you deny Jewish roots in Jerusalem?" Only fools do. We are not talking about the Jewish people but about Israel, a UN state member, which in May 1949 has committed itself to abide by international law. Can't you grasp the difference? "Can Arabs match Jewish 3 000 years of living in Jerusalem?" No, they can't. Jews were living in Jerusalem long before the idea of a Jewish state was even conceived. But that's a fact irrelevant in this debate: Zionism is about a Jewish homeland, in peace with its neighbours, not about Jews building, against the stance of the entire international community - in illegally annexed East-Jerusalem. Nor is it about Jewish sovereignty over a place where the Temple was once standing, which is now a holy muslim site. And finally: There is no Arab Empire in this world. Except in your apparently overactive imagination.

Here are questions that should be answered first before we talk about "American" land theft from natives ok ;) Can you prove that those who claim Jerusalem for themselves are genuine,authentic Palestinians and not Arabs trying,under stolen Palestinian identity, steal more land for Arab Empire? Explain who has smuggled The Temple Mount into a non-state entity of Palestine and when. Do you deny Jewish roots in Jerusalems? Can Arabs match Jewish 3 000 years of living in Jerusalem? And now let's talk about Americans :)

"Abbas is no longer in control." (A. Zekaria) Another failure of our leaders: They chose the wrong enemy. "He should have ended with Olmert." (A. Zekaria) His people seems to disagree with you. So does the current Administration. And so did the one that preceded it. Too bad. Anyway, who do you want to succeed him? Marwan Barghuti perhaps? Not a bad idea. "Yesterday, in my speech to the United Nations, I said you are a man of peace who believes in a two-state solution. And after our conversation today, you once again confirmed that." Pres. Bush to Chairman Abbas, Sep 20, 2006. www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/bush092006.html

"Abbas has been making one crap after another to fool Israel and the world." (Brod) Israel and the world? Including the last two US Presidents? Wow! The guy must be a genius! Remember GW Bush? "Yesterday, in my speech to the United Nations, I said you are a man of peace who believes in a two-state solution. And after our conversation today, you once again confirmed that." Pres. Bush to Chairman Abbas, Sep 20, 2006. www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/bush092006.html Too bad Abbas is such a (smart) enemy. Have you, by any chance, any different one, less shrewd of a conman, to propose to us? Marwan Barghuti, perhaps? And any other population to occupy? The Italians, for instance. Why not? We still have a revenge to take.

"He [Abbas] lacks the credibility. No one would follow him." (harzion) Poor tiny Israel, surrounded by intractable and murderous enemies, all alone in this cruel world of Jews-haters, without any real friend, forced to keep occupying, against its own will, the foreign and stateless population it has, unwittingly, taken control of, 42 years ago. Israeli decision-makers, my heart goes with you. "abbas is a weak man." (harzion) When the enemy of your enemy is weak, don't call him 'irrelevant', HELP HIM, damn it !!! He may be weak, but he still rules over more Palestinians than Ismail Haniyeh.

"First of all prove that those who claim Jerusalem for themselves are genuine, authentic Palestinians ... " (Meo) First of all prove that the signatories of the US Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776, who were claiming the thirteen British colonies for themselves, were genuine, authentic Americans ... "

"I demanded a complete freeze of settlement construction for six months, including in East Jerusalem. I have yet to receive an answer." (Mahmoud Abbas) Who, in his right senses, would agree to negotiate on a piece of land while its occupant refuses to stop building on it? It has been agreed by both sides that the status of Jerusalem is subject to negotiation. What kind of Palestinian leader could agree to negotiate over illegally annexed East-Jerusalem while the other side is demonstrating every day its unwillingness to stop building there, in its unrelenting efforts to unify it with the Western part of the city. Abbas is no quisling. "Israel gave up Sinai and Gaza ... " (SDHD) This is a most biased presentation of what actually happened, and says a lot about your intellectual honesty. Israel returned the Sinai back into the hand of an Arab chief of state against a peace treaty. Gaza was abandoned into nobody's hand, with then-PM Sharon going to great length to prevent the Chairman from claiming credit for it. We Israelis are now paying the price: An islamist enclave we cannot live with, nor defeat. And a Chairman further weakened.

-resentative of the so-called Palestinian people. Abbas has become a liability and will not last long. You don't negotiate with someone who does not possess indisputable authority. Its like the Palestinians cutting a deal with Livni, the oppossition leader. It has no validity.

"Time for you to catch up with new circumstances: Arafat is dead now for 5 years. There is now a new Chairman, elected on 15 January 2005 by a clear majority of his people" That chairman of yours also rejected an offer, genius. See, here's the point your missing. Lincoln said Israel wouldn't give up a square centimeter. Meanwhile, it gave up Sinai, Gaza, and offered to give up most of the West Bank and parts of East Jerusalem. It's the Palestinians who reject it. Don't pretend they're new to this game, and it's a bright, new, shiny day. It's the same old crap from the Palestinians -- rejecting offers of a bit more than a square cm. Grow up.

Non sense. It is too late for 2 states solution. Just wake up and smell the new Isrestine. The road to peace start with learning the facts and then try to live in peace with your fellow citizens in Isrestine. See if you can pass this quiz http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/12/answers-to-the-state-of-palestine-quiz/ Job well done everyone.You worked very hard for 61 years.

First of all prove that those who claim Jerusalem for themselves are genuine,authentic Palestinians and not Arabs. Then explain who has smuggled The Temple Mount into a non-state entity of Palestine and when. Do you deny Jewish roots in Jerusalems CJ.Can Arabs match Jewish 3 000 years of living in Jerusalem? Can Abbas acquire Jerusalem by war?

Finally I agree with Mr. Lincoln. Abbas does not have anything to offer Israel. Besides, what peace?. when even among them can not be peace, hamas hates fatah, and both hate Israel. They are being used as puppets by the EU and the rulers or dictators from all arab countries. I reiterate the only way is for Jordan, who is the truly arab palestine to take over, and period.

Israeslis need to get their heads out of their ass and push their leaders to make peace. The Final Solution is quite well known: 2 states. 1967 borders with only minor modifications. A sharing of Jerusalem. A comprimise on the right of return such that Israeli demographic obsessions are respected. It's tough. It's not perfect. But there is no other reasonable solution. At some point....the two solution will be scrapped by the Arab World and the Palestinians. Israel, each day, makes the two solution increasingly remote.

have i missed your reply to my question what you intend to do with the 3.5 million non jews in the territories?

The asstounding arrogance of the Palestians positon is summed up by Palestinian Prince,who essentially implies tht since the Palestinians were only offered 94% of what they DEMANDED then that disagreement as to property the justifies the taking of Jewish lives by Palestinans. It is an evil equation of property versus peoples lives.

Any time the Palestinians want to pack up and leave the Middle East, peace is possible. If they want to stay, it is impossible.

"Time for you to catch up with new circumstances: Arafat is dead now for 5 years." No, it's time for YOU to get a clue. Lincoln said Israel wouldn't give up a square centimeter. Meanwhile, every time the Palestinians have been offered territory, they have rejected it because it wasn't enough. Instead, they turned to violence in order to get more. Each time, they are offered less and less. If the Palestinians keep repeating their past actions, everything remains the same. Reality isn't created in a vacuum every time you want a result, chances are -- it will be the same result as you've had in the past. "There is now a new Chairman, elected on 15 January 2005 by a clear majority of his people." That new chairman has also rejected offers and makes ridiculous demands -- TODAY. Clue? Buy one.

... Abbas responds by upping the ante: Must be a 100% freeze, and define Palestine exactly at 67 border. Or else, no talks. In other words, Abbas wants everything settled before talks so that there is nothing to talk about. And twerps, especially in Europe, can't figure out where the problem is.

Sorry Johnny but you are either ignorant or a liar. The PLO had signed an agreement with Israel and has been a proxy for Israel and the USA. Abbas is little more than a Quisling but has to preserve his support base and image. Sorry If the British or American Christians inavde Stockholm will you not try to destroy their rule ?

So let me tell you this, if Israel stands the chance of her own version of `civil` war to get that agreement hammered through, shouldn`t it be at least for something extremely realistically meaningful and not for well known in advance failure of such attempt. You got to get `your house` in order to even begin to contemplate the mutual success of peace agreement. Even your own more pragmatic people say there is no chance of the peace without Pal unity. And what are you doing? Got `caught` by Israeli freeze proposal, did not expect to be `goldstoned` by `radical` Bibi with such ease on such issue as settlement freeze? And looks like scurrying to football freezing PR back into their faces. l

Assuming this can be resolved (huge if), next the agreement goes to the Pal referendum. And it sure passes the unified Pal nation with HAMAS leading the way. Not that you pay much attention to such fact, but HAMAS is out to `liberate` the Palestine. They won`t even have their master to get involved, they are so self conscientious in that regard. They will celebrate such agreement with the few rockets of their own or resume suicide bombings inside Israel via E Jlem. If there are `sleepers` there already, who knows who had sent them.Than who is going to `goldstone` the mess? You will spread your arms, shrug your shoulders, condemn that nutty HAMAS and eventually ride into the sunset.

Yesterday it was nothing short of 67 borders. Now there are modifications in play. Do you realize there is the gap with Israel in the size of the modifications in itself? This is not about percentages but the size of the Israelis living in WB and E Jlem and security as well. 5% with the breach in security is much worse than 2% without that breach. So how can there be no breach with 2% when there is one with 5% of exchange (if the exchange is done according to your maps that do not give a damn about Israeli security). Want to know how many radical elements are within PA security forces that are aching to attack the settlers, just can`t at the moment. But given the preferable conditions? UNIFIL you say, go ask UNIFIL in Lebanon how close they can get to Hezbollah `sensitive` spots. And it is not because they are called UNIFIL per se, any small group of grossly overmatched troops will be in serious jeopardy with their lives either there or WB, not to mention Gaza.

zeev loonies from the left will believe that joe stalin loved babies !

"So it is with Abbas. His failure to extract any concessions from Israel at all is leading to his downfall" An unprecedented settlement freeze isn't a concession?

"Time for you to catch up with new circumstances: Arafat is dead now for 5 years." Time for you to grow a mind. Lincoln said Israel wouldn't give up a square inch. Israel already offered more, but the rejection came from the Palestinians. Time for you to understand that the past behaviors continue into today.

h: "you dispute israeli ownership of the west bank." Not even Israel claims "ownership" of the West Bank. Its claim is (and has always been) that some of the West Bank must be ceded **TO** Israel before it will end this occupation. h: ".jordan attacked us with artillery and mortar fire." Casus foederus. Look it up. Your argument is the same as claiming that Britain and France were the aggressors in 1939, because they declared war on Germany, and not vice versa. h: "we attacked and took the west bank." And that is O.C.C.U.P.A.T.I.O.N. h: "what do you dispute?" That O.C.C.U.P.A.T.I.O.N. can confer O.W.N.E.R.S.H.I.P. h: "as to the west bank being the jewish homeland.that is the belief of many jews" Maybe so, but it is ALSO used to argue that **Israel** has some valid claim to the West Bank. That is an argument that is without merit.

SDHD: "Except for the fact that they promised to change their charter, but they never did." They "promised", did they??????? Look, SDHD, the PLO COMMITTED itself to annuling the articles of its charter that are inconsistent with a recognition of Israel's right to exist in peace and security. That. Was. A. Committment. And. They. Carried. Out. That. Committment. We know that is true, because the Israeli PM at the time that this annullment took place crowed about how he should get the credit for it. You know, the dude who went by the name of "Benyamin Netanyahu". Go ask him if you don't believe me.

Bibi has sunk Israel's credibility forever. At the end of 10 months, the statistics will show that the Settlements will have grown at a record pace. Forever proving that Israel has about as much control of the settlements as Abbas has over Gaza. This 10-month non-freeze will be the same for Israel as was turning down Barak's peace offer was for the Palestinians. It will be indisputable proof of Israel's ability to never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

"Abbas is no longer in control." (A. Zekaria) Another failure of our leaders: They chose the wrong enemy. "He should have ended with Olmert." (A. Zekaria) His people seems to disagree with you. So does the current Administration. And so did the one that preceded it. Too bad. Anyway, who do you want to succeed him? Marwan Barghuti perhaps? Not a bad idea. "Yesterday, in my speech to the United Nations, I said you are a man of peace who believes in a two-state solution. And after our conversation today, you once again confirmed that." Pres. Bush to Chairman Abbas, Sep 20, 2006. www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/bush092006.html

Time for you to catch up with new circumstances: Arafat is dead now for 5 years. There is now a new Chairman, elected on 15 January 2005 by a clear majority of his people - whom GW Bush later addressed with these words, "Yesterday, in my speech to the United Nations, I said that you're a man of peace who believes in a two-state solution. And after our conversation today, you once again confirmed that. President Bush to Chairman Abbas, Sep 20, 2006. www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/bush092006.html

The sooner Arabs stop stealing Jewish land, causing terror and attempting to destroy Israel, the sooner peace will be achieved. No freeze, no Palestine, Peace yes

"He [Abbas] lacks the credibility. No one would follow him." (harzion) Poor tiny Israel, surrounded by intractable and murderous enemies, all alone in this cruel world of Jews-haters, without any real friend, forced to keep occupying, against its own will, the foreign and stateless population it has, unwittingly, taken control of, 42 years ago. Israeli decision-makers, my heart goes with you. "abbas is a weak man." (harzion) When the enemy of your enemy is weak, don't call him 'irrelevant', HELP HIM, damn it !!! He may be weak, but he still rules over more Palestinians than Ismail Haniyeh.

or eternal occupation?

give up east jerusalem.there is no doubt about that whatever.

1 you ask why israel has to control the fighting forces in the region. 2 you also want a connection with gaza. your requests are reasonable but israel cannot leave the west bank under the control of opposition forces.the hills of judea control the coastal plain where the majority of israelis live.so your idea is not at all possible. with gaza something will be worked out.that wouild not be a prtoblem.

"he wanted to annex the Jordan Valley which in essence cuts the West Bank into 3 cantons." Nonsense. The territories offered were contiguous.

That is part of overwhelming odds, llow me to add;that the Palestinian people are the only people in the world who are denied Statehood that was guarenteed to them by the United Nations,and the people who have suffered the longest Occupation in ModernHistory.I thougt those beyond the hills off hate and darkness knew that.Thank you..

Sure Barak offered 94 percent of the West Bank giving in exchange to Palestine 1 percent of Israel. Ok, Barak also wanted to control all Palestinian borders, airspace, water, etc. In addition ,he wanted to annex the Jordan Valley which in essence cuts the West Bank into 3 cantons. He offered Abu Diss as a Palestinian capital, not any part of the Arab areas of East Jerusalem. Right of return was not even accepted in principal, that is Israel accepting fault. No connection with Gaza, give me a break, that is not sovereignty.

To all big mouths; Presedant Abbas is aleader who hates war and violence.He choosed the way of Non-violance in resisting what he rightly regards as an unwarrantable encroachment upon his country. But according to the accepted canons of right and wrong nothing can be said against Palestinian resistance in the face of overwheming odds.

I've done a fair amount of reading on Vichy France. Its leaders bet on cooperation with Germany; that is to say, they figured that they could exchange concessions with the Germans. Perhaps needless to say, it turned out to be a one-way street -- and as their policy yielded no visible benefits, the Vichy regime grew increasingly unpopular. So it is with Abbas. His failure to extract any concessions from Israel at all is leading to his downfall, and the downfall of the PLO.

....I was talking about a PEACEFUL (Gandhi- style) Intifada, or do you think Gandhi wasn't good for the people of India either...???

"Palestinians offically recognized israel long ago" Except for the fact that they promised to change their charter, but they never did.

"All we ever get from Israel is excuses! No peace offer is ever enough for Israel!" The offer is 100% of the territories, cleansed of Jews and a flood of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into Israel. That's supposed to be enough? What about the offer that the Palestinians received? What about UNGA 181? What about 1967? Every time the Palestinians reject an offer and turn to violence, the next offer gets smaller. Do you encourage them to keep rejecting offers? What are they REALLY offering to Israel, clown?

"Only a moron, idiot or imbecile would believe Israel would give up an square centimeter of Judea, Samaria or Jerusalem for peace." Well, guess who the moron is? Israel would give up a lot more than that, and even offered a lot more than that -- over 97% of the territories with a capital in Jerusalem. Arafat rejected that.

Palestinians offically recognized israel long ago.However israel does not recognize basic human rights of the Palestinians.

so? he was still prime minister.he made the offer to abbas to withdraw from 97% of the west bank.abbas asked for a map.the next day a map was brought to him.and he then refused point blank.saeb erekat his number 2 confirms all this.

sam it is difficult to deal with posts such as yours.you make things up and expect an answer to your false suppositions. barak and clinton oversaw the negotiations.barak offered 95% and he was refused.so your information is entirely without merit. as to your story about barak "making the offer because he knew he would "never be elected again" i leave it to readers to judge whether your ideas make much sense.

Definitely Abbass is doing the right thing by not going to the Table of Negociation. Abbass is seeking a Partner, Here & there, and everywhere but NO sincere PARTNER on the horizon. All PM./S of different colours present themselves with the same strategy, "lets Talk" Lets Negociate Peace" "It takes two to Tango",RECIPROCITY""we need 7 days of Calm and No violence" but while at the same time settlements, confiscation of Lands, House Demolitions, Walls, Fences ,Road Blocks, Check points, Private Roads for settlers only, and the Sinbad tactics are being used in East Jerusalem, "New settlers " for OLD Palestinians Homes." The world is fed up with what is going on , and this is the reason as WHY we are hated by the WORLD communities.

I,completely understand Mr. ABBAS.A Free independent Palestinian state is one where the Settlements and the high ways are turned over to the Palestinians with IDF not existing completely,on palestinian soil.Less than that would be trying to have the Palestinians Legitimize what has been illegal Occupation.

... he can't make either 'peace or war" ! Abbas should have ended with Olmert ...

I don`t believe its in Abbas` interest to try and play hardball with the Israelis. As it stands Mr. Abbas is on the short end of the stick. He is looking to gain independence and land back so its a bit ironic he would be trying to call the shots. Israel for her part is in the process of implementing a ten month settlement freeze. A pretty unprecendant move. Those that question its legitimacy should just read the daily confrontation with the settlers. Obviously its real and genuine and Abbas needs get his head out of his ass and get back to the negotiationg table. Instead issuing useless dictums to Israel he should be preparing his people for a realistic peace with Israel. One that entails compromise such as no right of return for the few refugees left. Israelis are aware of the painful compromises that will ensue from a final peace its time for the Palestinians to grow up and realize reality and stop living in a dream world.

As I stated in response to another column, Abbas' public English statements to media much resemble (in ominous coincidence) public media statements (any language, as there are many Indians who can speak fluently one or more of all languages known by Multani Shia tout) of Yusuf Raza Gilani (who shills much about "peace talks/process" with India--though he admitted in August 2009, in column published by DC-area paper "India This Week" that he did not believe it possible at all), while his private (and Arabic--not as many Israeli Jews understand it, even by percentage, as Indians understand Punjabi/Urdu/English) statements show that the ONLY peace he will accept for Israel is the type preceded by "rest in" (another ominous resemblance, to Gilani's "India This Week" published statement).

The only reason you give deadlines on how long the freeze will last is if its going to go on the record and be made official policy. Lets assume construction unofficially ends for 6 months what happens when that self imposed deadline runs out? Does anybody seriously believe Abbas will say you kept your part of the bargin now I will keep mine so build with my blessings or will he throw another temper tantrum demanding a full freeze or will he say lets have another unofficial 6 month freeze? This is another one of Abbases tricks and Bibis coalition partners & members of the Likud party are not fools. He will be accused of trying to deceive the public & he even risks being replaced as head of Likud. He might be able to pull off ab official 10 month freeze in Judea & Samaria only but anything else will be seen as treachery and he will be out of a job. As for Barak he was one of the most unpopular PMs when he was in charge and right now he is defense minister not foreign minister.

that is not debate.it is vindictiveness and abuse. let us get back to the facts.you dispute israeli ownership of the west bank. in 1967 there was an armistice border dividing us from jordan.jordan attacked us with artillery and mortar fire.moshe dayan warned hussein through the un to stop.he did not.we attacked and took the west bank. what do you dispute?let me know and let us so if we can narrow our differences. as to the west bank being the jewish homeland.that is the belief of many jews.you can disagree without being abusive.

abbas does not deny writing the study.

isreal better neogaite with abbas or he will leave and the hamas will be the politicans to neogaite with

the words to haaretz are very much after the fact.abbas wrote the thesis at university. he believed or said he believed that the mass murders never took place.

what happened in the previous 9 years ?? he was ther without afreeze and didnt agree to anything !

"abbas`s work at university was a thesis denying the mass murder of jews in 1939-1945." Quote the thesis. Go ahead....do it!! Prove your point! "I wrote in detail about the Holocaust and said I did not want to discuss numbers. I quoted an argument between historians in which various numbers of casualties were mentioned. One wrote there were 12 million victims and another wrote there were 800,000. I have no desire to argue with the figures. The Holocaust was a terrible, unforgiveable crime against the Jewish nation, a crime against humanity that cannot be accepted by humankind. The Holocaust was a terrible thing and nobody can claim I denied it." http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=297637&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y

Abbas reminds me 2 headed poisonous snake. At his convenience he says one thing to his arab breathrens and radically opposite thing to the world to hear. Do not believe for a moment that he is even capable to originate any resemblance of compromise or agreement that he could uphold...

Sovereign states, by definition have defined borders when they are declared. Israel has never legally annexed any territory beyond it's Declared Sovereign borders. You were sold out by the Jewish People's Council and the Provisional Government May 14th 1948. If you are at all religious and believe in the basic tenets of Judaism, you'd not be advocating the theft of other folk's territory. In other words, you and your kind, are a disgrace to the basic tenets that saw us through 3,000 years. We will live on, Israel might not. History does have a way of repeating itself especially on people who are ignorant and refuse to learn and adapt.

"CJ Hamas do not recognise Abbas in ANY capacity" Irrelevant. A political party cannot declare statehood. It's up to the people of an entity, not Hamas or Fatah. Your post means nothing. You should try learning. It's fun, informative and makes the world of difference to one's understanding about what is actually going on and more importantly, why!

Abbas cannot pretend to sign peace with a country he do not recognize.Stop to play marbles be a man and choose for peace.

Your facts are wrong. Barak offered 95% of the WB (in fact 50% with temporary security zones all over the place) as he announced his resignation a few months earlier knowing he had no chance to be elected again. Olmert had no power at all and has trouble with justice. Israeli leaders like to make huge peace announcements but are never able to apply them. Why is that ? perhaps because they simply do not want peace and would love to be remembered as peacemakers.......you and thousands of israelis love to believe those lies. That makes you feel less guilty right ?

But it does not mean a lot. Its final status ( East Jerusalem) will be decided in negotations. In the meantime Jews can settle there. If there is no peace agreement, there is no problem whatsoever. Israel will maintain the status quo, and keep settling. No problem with international law.

Abbas wants a two-state solution. The settlers, who run Israel, will not accept that. All they will accept is a one-state solution. And the rest of the world will insist that that means that all the West Bank Palestinians get Israeli nationality.

let us look at what happened 1 barak offered to return 95% of the west bank. at camp david 2 barak on the eve of election offered to do yet more at taba. 3 end 2008 olmert offered 97% of the west bank and the balance would be an exchange of land. abbas refuses. so r cummings that all being so why do you ignore the history and continue with the abuse.

good day cummings.sorry your post is all over the place with the uniting theme being animosity to israel and its people. jerusalem is the holy city of the jewish people.you are free to disagree but less of the abuse would be a good start.

PLO is weak. the one in charge is hamas. IF israel quit WB in 2 weeks PLO is finished! they can no longer be partner of peace. even the peace is made with PLO there is Hamas. so making peace with PA is not making peace with all pals. first they need to be united if not no need for peace talks for the peace will be born dead. U cant make peace with a 2 headed nation. one extremist one more pacifist

Re u pro pal or pro israel? i cant say sometimes.. the third intifada is just what isr needs today. that would show that pals re just war loving people and isr the defending against the intifada. u cant be actually thinking that intifadas helps pals to go through freedom. everytime there is an intifada the pals suffer more and that gives isr to do what ever it wants to do. i never saw an intifada bringing down the isr right but it makes people believe they made the right choice by choosing right wing gov. an intifada will be the best for isr. that will show the true face of pals to the world. that they re not poor helpless peace loving people. and that isr has to defend itself. if i was a pro pal it would be the last thing i would pray for.

Ms. BenMayor, So far there has been no freeze, not even the "partial freeze" promised by Netanyahu. I find it unlikely that the relevant authority will ever actually enforce such a freeze. If they do, then we shall see. Peace. Stephen

"How can palestinians accept any peace plan with Israel continuing settlement buildings. The whole history of this conflict is based on land." Hate to break it to you, but the Palestinians have been foiling every attempt at a two state solution ever since the re-birth of Israel. Even before settelments, the Palestinians refused. With settelments, the Palestinians refuse. What makes you think its any different today?

it is the palestinians among ourselves who know that we are ruled by the law.that is why they prefer to be part of israel rather then to be attached to the palestinian authority.

Mr. Public, No people is more deserving of peace than another. Peace in one province benefits all of the others. If, and only if, there is truly a chance for peace then it certainly seems worth the investment. Peace. Stephen

denying the mass murder of jews in 1939-1945.

Israeli, "Presenting part of the truth is worse than a plain lie." And yet that is exactly what you have done. As if it were simply an agreement about the amount of land... Peace. Stephen

"political parties have no place declaring....." cj nor do political parties have permission to lob rockets at neighbouring countries"

olmert offered almost all the west bank to abbas at the end of 2008.abbas refused. olmert's offer is almost irrelevant in that no palestinian would ever make a deal with us.that is not in their narrative.

american jews overwhelmingly support israel.you are in the minority as is j street. the problem for israel is the assimilation of american jews.the offspring of mixed marriages have no natural empathy with israel an empathy that is almost automatic with most jews all over the world. but israel has now grown up and will make it irrespective.may it be so.

Good leader Neten Yahoo , in fact I appreciate Settlers they serve Israel in peace and in war , they know what they have to do ... I encourage them to occupy Ramallah and Abbas Home , also I encourage them to occupy Alaqsa , why not ? no body can stop them . and Neten yahoo Serve them

we live in the jewish homeland.we will never leave it.

in israel palestinian politics.he lacks the credibility.no one would follow him.

Master of Taqiyya, Abbas has been making one crap after another to fool Israel and the world. It is like dealing with a conman. Israel should not take this man as if he can deliver the goods. He is an Arafat clone in western garb.

"Palestinian disunity makes peace impossible." (Mark Klein) It helps knowing a little bit of history: Palestinian disunity is of our leaders' own doing. Up to 1988, nobody had ever heard of Hamas. For 26 years, from June '67 up to Oslo, Sep 1993, no Israeli leader was prepared to admit the very existence of a Palestinian people, much less to offer the stateless population we had taken control of in June '67, independence and a homeland of their own. Instead, our decision-makers chose to scatter permanent settlements all over Gaza and the West Bank, as so many 'facts on the ground', as if these territories were our genuine possession and the locals had consented to stay forever our silent and obedient subjects. "Until the outbreak of the intifada in 1987, Gazit notes, the occupation seemed so trouble-free as to cause complacency." Carl Brown, reviewing "Trapped Fools: Thirty Years of Israeli Policy in the Territories", by Shlomo Gazit. www.foreignaffairs.org Shlomo Gazit, is retired Major General, first Coordinator of Government Operations in the territories (1967-74), and former Head of Military Intelligence (1974-79).

and Hamas is in control of Gaza....So your last post means nothing.

How can palestinians accept any peace plan with Israel continuing settlement buildings. The whole history of this conflict is based on land. Palestinians are fighting to keep their land. Israel is fighting to take that land. How can Israel talk about "peace plans" while taking the land from the palestinians ? there neverr has been any peace plans offered by Israel as settlements is growing and growing through the years. Israel's strategy is to expand and make israelis (and the rest of the world) believe they're in danger, efforts are being made and there's no palestininan peace partner. In other words Israel lies to the world and its own people.

....a third Intifada now. A totally peaceful one with civil disobedience, road blocks, demonstrations etc. In view of Israels current image in the world, it would be a piece of cake to bring right-wing Israel down to its knees. The Palestinian people should really ask them- selves why he isn't doing it. Maybe like Israel he is afraid, that as soon as there is peace, the cash from the International community won't flow as generously anymore, as it does today...????

No peace offer is ever enough for Israel! Its leaders only disagree over how much of stolen Pal land they get to keep, whether it's 7.5% or 8.5% (and no doubt more under Netanyahu). They have no intention of returning stolen E J'sem, giving back much of the Area C land, vacating settlements, compensating refugees or permitting an independent Palestine. But you can't speak for Hamas!, they say with delight. So what, it's de facto a separate territory and a law unto itself, that's life. And you're setting preconditions! Nope, the roadmap sets the preconditions, the PA has added none. And you haven't recognised Israel as a Jewish state! Even if the PA was foolish enough to, that would come in the final status agreement, not as an Israeli precondition in Phase 1! And we don't trust you and... and... Israel never misses an opportunity to find a way to kick talks into the long grass, so that the illegal Eretz Israel enterprise can proceed at full steam ahead.

olmert had one foot in the courtroom, and the other one half way out the door. are you saying that you would have expected netanyahu to implement this agreement had it been accepted? do you really think he would have? he's not even abiding by the agreements set forth in the roadmap...what makes you think he'd follow through on what was offered? there WAS no "opportunity"! olmert was on his way out...and there's NO continuity in israel, surely you know that. if olmert wasn't going to be able to implement it during his tenure, which there's no way he could have, everything ends with a new government, just like it did...and it reverts back to square one...just like it has.

that Israel should consider. A complete freeze for a year won't affect Israel, while the ball will be drop into the palestinian courtyard. Since palestinians have nothing to offer, Israel will be back building up in the disputed territories after a year. The legal "status quo" will be preserved. Israel does not annex legally but jews will be able to live wherever they choose, in the disputed territories. When the final status will be decided after negotiations, then Israel will pull out and the settlements will be part of Palestine, or destroyed, or evacuated or annexed. Only direct negotiations will decide the fate of the settlements. It is very simple and crystal clear.

Enough Avi....Abbas is a hasbeen he just keeps rambling onand on and on . He can't even make peace with his rivals Hamas.

Abbas was candid in this interview, something he has should have done ages ago. The Israelis are not serious about reaching an agreement. At the peak of previous negotiations, the Olmert government attacked Gaza knowing full well that such a move would definitely put an end to the talks then Olmert stood down and the rest is history. Now Netanyahu want to do a Shamir and waste 10 more years in futile talks that lead to no where while expanding the illegal building of Jewish settlements. It is obvious that the Israeli government is only interested in playing footsie with the Obama administration while paying lip service to the so called peace process.

This is a new century. Last century was awful. Too much violence. I want to visit Israel and Abu Dhabi too.

Olmert made himself irrelevant. He convinced enough Israelis that he was an incompetent crook. And someday, the Israeli justice system may even get around to a trial. He waged to wars based on the Cheney/Abrams theories of war. That did a lot of damage to civilians and cemented Hezbollah and Hamas firmly in government. So the Israeli electorate found a way to elect somebody pledged to be a not-Olmert. Olmert is irrelevant, now. Netanyahu has dedicated his life to assuring that there will be nothing for Palestinians to call a state, ever. Get used to the idea.

Abbas..."peace is not on his agenda and that all he wants is just more Jewish land" It's Palestinian. Part of the non-state entity of Palestine. http://wp.me/pDB7k-il "..that he`s ready to acquire by all means-violence and murders included." Is that what he said or something you've just made up?

instead you'd rather spout nonsense //Hamas has no connection to the negotiations for which I am responsible.// "Abbas can only speak for the West Bank." No. Hamas, like Fatah, is a political party. Political parties have no place in the business of declaring statehood or Sovereignty. The body responsible must represent people of all political persuasions. See the Jewish People's Council it's a good example.

It is too bad that the current Bibi government has no tactics or representatives to do that peace talk. It makes one wonder if they have the intent to do anything, beside making a mess and allowing all these protests on Shabbats in Jerusalem, and taking ministers' salaries and accomplishing little for the country. Is war the only way wanted on both sides? Do they consider how much demages war will bring to both sides?

You can't claim you have no preconditions while simulatanously refusing to hold any talks until your conditions are met. No more Palestinian double-speak thank you.

As an American Jew who spent years as a hard left winger I can say I?m tired of the lies coming from the Palestinians and I no longer trust anything they say. Israel has offered the world and they want nothing to do with it. Palestinians are Arabs from Jordan or Egypt. They were never considered a people until the 1960s. Show me their history or artifacts. We Jews have a long history of being abused and we will no longer put up with it. Our leaders have offered serious plans and are always met with silence. Its time for a real peace, that means recognizing Israel as a Jewish state and committing to peace. As an American I can no longer stand behind these Arabs who appear to want nothing less than complete destruction of Israel and the Jews that live there. I stand with my people. I stand with Israel.

negotiations, the settlements are illegal. "When the arabs declare to the world that they are civilized....." Uh? 61 years of Israel illegally acquiring territory. Is that what you call civilized? WOW!! Say, have the Arab States acquired anyone else's territory illegally?

Abbas is irrelevant. Why does Haaretz keep trying to bring the dead back to life? (Thanks Olivia)

given the unpredictability of Hamas (their political inclusion didn't work so well unfortunately as of yet) and their "agenda" is not realistic, while on the other hand the majority of Palestinians support President Abbas who backs a negotiated resolution to the conflict and followed up with a referendum, how can Israel not pursue a 6 month freeze? What makes this freeze so complicated? Some elderly people from up here go down south to Florida for 6 months while shutting down their homes for the winter. In the Middle East, we aren't talking about seasonal weather respite. We're talking about PEACE for both people, Israelis and Palestinians, as well as a comprehensive regional peace - so wouldn't some respite from conflict be worthwhile?

This is for Arab consumption. Israel shouldn't bother replying to this stupidity.

to give away the Land of Israel to our enemy. Why not learn about Jewish history first, and perhaps visit the land you wish to give away. You will find rusting Jordanian artillary pieces left in place in some of the hilltop Jewish settlements. If you move here, you get the opportunity to vote for the party of your choice in a democratic election. Otherwise go shopping and leave us to take care of our own defense. We can't afford to be wrong.

The Palestinian leader is always wrong, it is only Jews that speak the truth, God said so. Everything Israel says is right the Palestinians are wrong. they are not really suffering they love the conditions they are living in, in fact they don't really exist, they never really existed, its just Arab propaganda. We Israeli's should be acknowledged for what wonderful and glorious people we are. Its our its all ours we have no responsibility to share, God said so.

The Arab terrorist Kuntar smashed the skull of a four-year-old Israeli girl with his rifle butt after murdering her father. He was given a hero's welcome by the President and Prime Minister of Lebanon upon release from an Israeli prison in an exchange for the bodies of four Israeli soldiers captured alive, paraded in public, and later murdered in captivity. Abbas congratulates Kuntar`s family and meets him in Beirut. Al Jazeera broadcasts Kuntar's birthday party celebration throughout the Arab world. Israelis will settle Judea and Samaria, because Arab control of the territory is too horrific for most Israelis to stomach. Rockets now launched from Gaza that often fall harmlessly, would blanket our nation when launched from Judea or Samaria as Abbas "rounds up the usual suspects" and demands further Israeli concessions to placate his "extremists".

Many of us back a TOTAL freeze, and are eager for a two state solution ASAP.

It amazes me that people like CJ can be so cavalier about 'stolen land' when they live in areas that were usurped before the rule of 'International LAw'...Australia? Settled of course by England as a penal colony; New Zealand? What about the indigenous people there? And don't get me started on (this) USA...

I have a question..Abbas spoke very little English, I take it that he speaks Arabic and Russian. Barak speaks Hebrew and English. The conversation would have to be between interpreters then?

IF Israel freezes settlments, then there will be negotiations and Abbas pre3dicts that there will be an agreement. First, of course, there is a pre-condition, namely the freeze. Second, the Israelies get nothing in return except the front of a negotiation table where Hamas, the most powerful of the Pal authorities, is absent. What a deal!!! Having said that, I would go for it. What does Israel have to lose? So long as Israel doesn't compromise its security, let's see what lies around the dark corner.

It is obvious from Abbas declaration " We'll sacrifice victims until Jerusalem is ours" that peace is not on his agenda and that all he wants is just more Jewish land that he's ready to acquire by all means-violence and murders included. And that is not very convincing peace proposal.

off the car you've stolen, in order to keep the rest of the car, is not a legitimate offer.

That sound nice, if only Israel would stop it's settlement of Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem there would be peace. Is Abbas a moron? An idiot or an imbecile? Only a moron, idiot or imbecile would believe Israel would give up an square centimeter of Judea, Samaria or Jerusalem for peace. I must think that Abbas only wishes to embarrass Israel by asking the impossible. A halt to settlement activity has already been refused, denied, and proven false by the government of Israel. So what is the fool responsible for this article smoking? Loco Weed or old socks?

"What would happen with Hamas-ruled Gaza if an agreement were signed between the Palestinian Authority and Israel? "Hamas has no connection to the negotiations for which I am responsible." Abbas can only speak for the West Bank. Abbas can only deliver a half "peace". Half "peace" is no peace at all. Abbas is a car salesman who is pretending to sell a Mercedes Benz, but only has the authority to sell the wheels.

Abbas is on-again off-again as to whether he does have a pre-condition: absolute recognition of '67 borders (with possibility of land-swaps ambiguous)--Hamas continues its on-again on-again demand for end to Israel...

Abbas is in a tricky position. It's time to pull out serious wild cards. How about open door negotiations? Has this ever been tried before?

I thought he said no preconditions for peace negotiation! Abas, Amedinejad, Asad and all of the arab leaders are truly hate mongers and not peace seekers like Anwar Sadat. When the arabs declare to the world that they are civilized and they want to live-and-let-live, Israel will be there to be a partner and a good neighbor.

As i said before, you will miss Abbas, just wait and see

Any peace deal Abbas signed wouldn't be worth the paper it was written upon.

Ignoring the fact that the PLO was a faux "liberation" organization with no historical "national" not to mentin being a distinct people and culture, their charter specifically did not claim the lands beyond the "Green Line." They only wanted what that 13% of the British Mandate that the Yehudim controlled.

What is this now? Abbas is saying peace in 6 months if all settlements are frozen. What a non-starter this is. Furthermore, he is just raising expectations on the Palestinian side knowing full well this is going no where and will end in failure since Netanyahu and his gang of Right Wingers also have no intention of freezing all settlements. Enough is enough. We American Jews want tangible results, not more useless posturing and fighting which both you Israelis and Palestinians are fond of doing. Either you are serious or you are not. My patience for spending tax dollars on non-US Citizens who have no intention of resolving their problems is limited. We have enough issues at home that need resolution and our people are more deserving than you hypocrites.

Positive moves from Abbas should be met with positive steps from Israel. Israel has the ability to develop trust.

Abbas had the opportunity to negotiate a peace deal with Olmert in the fall of 2008, but Abbas was not willing to settle for the terms that Olmert would offer. Every indication is that Netanyahu will offer less than Olmert did. This suggests two possibilities: A. Abbas has an unrealistic assessment of Netanyahu's willingness to make an offer that goes beyond what Olmert offered, or B. Abbas knows that there is no chance of a deal within six months, even if Israel adopts a total freeze on construction beyond the 1949 cease fire line, and he is deliberately presenting an excessively optimistic prediction of a deal within six months as part of political or diplomatic maneuvering.

Could Abbas really get Palastinian support for a Geneva Accords type of deal when Arafat could not and Hamas was not then as powerful? Sounds doubtful. Fortunately for Abbas, Abbas can rely on his allies, the settlers, to torpedo any total freeze, so Abbas will never have to produce and can hang the failure of progress on the Israeli government. Insincere Palastinian requests for a final settlement agreement coupled with an insincere Israeli partial freeze. These guys do their little political moves, and real people pay the price.

Presenting part of the truth is worse than a plain lie. The truth is that Olmert offered 93.5% of the territories and Livni offered 98% and still the Palestinian response was negative. As usually, 'they never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity'. Had they accepted, a deal could have been reached more than a year ago. We still don't know Hamas' reaction, just two days ago they said they want the entire territory 'from the sea till the Jordan river'.

Why don't you take the first honest step by discarding all of your charters calling for the destruction of Israel! Once you have done that, you may maybe be allowed to come humbled to the land, and speak in a low voice regarding your ideas of peace. Never before that has happened.

Whatever you say, Abbas. If Olmert's offer was so good, you should have taken it. But no, as usual, you missed the opportunity. Moreover, there is zero benefit to an agreement for Israel at this point. Within minutes, the first rockets would fall on Jerusalem: Israelis understand that reality.