[ 26/09/2010 - 11:09 PM ] 
Cartoon by Emad Hajjaj, reads: Final status; two states living side by side in peace and security As the Israeli government gave a green light to Jewish settler groups to resume settlement-expansion activities all over the West Bank, the Ramallah-based PLO leadership has effectively assured the Zionist regime and its guardian ally, the United states, that the renewed settlement construction will have no impact on the futile and pointless "peace talks" between Israel and the Palestinian Authority leadership (PA).
On Sunday, 26 September, the self-imposed and partial settlement-expansion freeze expired amid half-hearted American efforts to keep "the process going" by convincing the Zionist regime to extend the freeze moratorium for a few more months or even a few more weeks.
However, the Israeli government, mindful of the power of the Jewish lobby in the United States, has refused to extend the freeze even for "a single day," which illustrates the extent of indifference and defiance with which it views the so-called "peace talks" with the Palestinians.
Meanwhile, as many as 2500 Talmudic Jewish settlers attended a "celebratory rally" in the West Bank with tractors, cement mixers and other construction equipment.
The settlers, who included numerous members of the Israeli prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu's Likud party, released 2000 balloons, signifying the number of settler units settler groups said they were intending to start building this coming week.
"These are homes that have already received final permits," said Jewish supremacist lawmaker, Danny Danon, who helped organize the rally.
Netanyahu himself, the main force behind the resumption of settlement expansion activities, reportedly asked settler leaders "to keep a low profile and refrain from provocations."
However, it was amply clear that Netanyahu was not objecting to renewed settlement construction per se, but was rather concerned about possible "public relations harm" that might result from more visible activities.
This is why, Netanyahu asked settler leaders as well as his cabinet ministers to refrain as much as possible from making interviews with the Press. In other words, the Israeli prime minister would want to see renewed settlement construction take place provided it is done as quietly or discretely as possible.
According to the Israeli press, the "prime minister's office explained that the request meant to prevent inflammation of the delicate ongoing contacts between Israel, and the Palestinian Authority surrounding the expiration of the freeze order."
The confused Abbas leadership
The PA leadership has repeatedly threatened to boycott talks with Israel if the later doesn't extend the settlement freeze moratorium.
PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas last week sought to assure Palestinians on this issue, saying that he wouldn't remain a single day in talks with Israel if the Zionist regime didn't extend the settlement freeze.
However, nearly 24 hours later, the same Abbas told American Jewish leaders that peace talks with Israel would continue even if settlement expansion continued."
The conspicuous contradictions in the Abbas leadership's stands have already created not a small amount of confusion in the occupied Palestinian territories as PA leaders in Ramallah kept issuing contradictory statements to the press with regard to the official Palestinian position concerning the issue of renewed settlement construction.
More to the point, Abbas was quoted as saying on 26 September that no matter what Israel did, the PA wouldn't resort to violence."We tried the intifada (uprising), and it caused us a lot of damage," the Fatah leader told the London-based Arabic language daily, al Hayat.
This is the same Abbas who told the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, 25 September, that Israel must choose between peace and the continuation of settlements.
Predictably, Abbas hopes to receive a "green light" or at least a "yellow light" from the Arab league which he would use as an excuse to keep up the talks with Israel going irrespective of the settlement expansion.
This week, the PA has requested an urgent meeting of Arab foreign ministers to discuss the current peace talks with Israel and the Zionist regime's refusal to extent the settlement freeze moratorium.
The request came as PA officials, including Abbas, continued to make contradictory statements on the settlement issue.
Abbas said earlier he would go back to the Palestinian institutions and the Arab league for their opinion on the issues at hand.
It is widely believed that Abbas has already decided to keep up indulging in pointless talks with Israel even though he knows quite well that he will receive nothing from the Israelis no matter how long the talks will last.
The Leader of the Ramallah regime also realizes that the Arab world will endorse whatever steps he decides to take since the overall Arab commitment to the Palestinian cause has sagged to an all-time's nadir.
Finally, the so-called Palestinian institutions in Ramallah have lost any credibility or ability to influence Abbas, given the fact that the latter controls the money coffers of the PLO, which means that any criticism of or objection to Abbas would mean a certain loss of one's salary.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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