Mahmoud Abbas has welcomed a proposal by France to resume peace talks with Israel and hinted that he would not unilaterally seek statehood from the United Nations in September.,,
According to Abbas, the proposal is based on an earlier initiative by US President Barack Obama which stipulated that Israel return to 1967 borders with Palestine, Egypt, and Jordan in an apparent bid to avert the Palestinians from unilaterally appealing to the UN for state recognition.
Abbas said that he accepts the initiative “in principle”.
“Our first, second, and third option is negotiations. If it doesn't bear fruit, we'll go to the United Nations without guaranteeing the results. But we'll exert every effort, and if the big powers stand in our way, we'll return to leadership to decide what to do in the next stage,” Abbas said.
In a related development, the French document designed to convene the Palestinians and Israelis to resume talks includes statements in favor of Israel and conditions set by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Haaretz has reported.
The document differs in that it puts off talks on the status of Jerusalem, which the international community had previously suggested would be the capital of both states.
Also, the diplomatic document revolves around borders and security arrangements and leaves Jerusalem and the refugees issue to be discussed somewhere down the line during talks, but no longer than a year from the onset of negotiations.
Abbas welcomed the document after one day of deliberations after it was presented to both Abbas and Netanyahu. An official from the prime minister's office said the document is still being studied.
Israel demands that any future talks are based on the understanding that Israel would maintain military presence on the Jordan River and that talks would not resume with a government that includes Israel's arch enemy Hamas, which does not recognize occupation state.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the document has already received the blessing of the US administration and EU states.
PFLP rejects French initiative, calls it a gift for Netanyahu
[ 04/06/2011 - 05:30 PM ]
GAZA, (PIC)-- The French initiative calling for resumption of peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel does not meet the aspirations of the Palestinian people, a responsible source in the Palestinian front for the liberation of Palestine said.Emad Abu Rahme, member of the PFLP central committee, said in a press release on Saturday that the initiative was tabled to block the Palestinian decision to go to the UN next September seeking international recognition of an independent Palestinian state on 1967 occupied land.
He said that PA chief Mahmoud Abbas’s acceptance of that initiative was a mistake. He described the initiative as a free gift for Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu, arguing that negotiations did not bring anything good for the Palestinians but achieved a lot for Israel.
Bardawil: Abbas approval of French peace proposal "hasty"
[ 04/06/2011 - 05:45 PM ]
GAZA, (PIC)-- Senior Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil has condemned Abbas's approval of the French proposal designed to urge the Palestinians to resume peace talks with Israel.
He said the position was “hasty, misguided, and had no relevance at this time”.
“The approval of the French initiative to again return to the cycle of futile negotiations on issues related to Israel, like security and borders – which Israel wants to impose inside the 1967 borders – we consider it a sort of retreat by the [Palestinian] Authority, and a failure to manage the conflict with the Israeli enemy, and a step backwards in Palestinian unity,” Bardawil said in a statement to Quds Press.
“Abu Mazen (Abbas) should not take any steps in isolation of the joint command created by the Palestinian reconciliation, especially since Israel doesn't care about such steps. It takes and doesn't give, and it benefits. Such a step would weaken the Palestinian position and bring the Palestinian ceiling below the minimal requirement.”....
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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