Posted on 10/7/2007, 1:20:03 PM by SJackson
Don't accept two-state solution, refugees tell Abbas
Khaled Abu Toameh , THE JERUSALEM POST Oct. 6, 2007
www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1191257234810&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Representatives of Palestinian refugees warned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas over the weekend against surrendering their "right of return" by accepting a two-state solution during next month's planned US-sponsored peace conference in Maryland.
The warning came as former PA prime minister Ahmed Qurei, who is better known as Abu Ala, said the Palestinians would not accept a state that did not include Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
He said the Palestinians would boycott the conference unless an agreement was reached with Israel beforehand on all the "fundamental" issues: the status of Jerusalem, the borders of the future Palestinian state and the problem of the refugees.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, meanwhile, is likely to address the diplomatic process at Sunday's weekly cabinet session, where the ministers are expected to hear assessments on the recent talks between Olmert and Abbas.
Abbas said Saturday that Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams would hold their first meeting on Monday to draft a joint statement on principles for future peace talks ahead of the planned conference in Annapolis.
In a letter to Abbas, Salman Abu Sitta, a prominent spokesman for Palestinian refugees, wrote: "We are aware of the pressure you are facing to abandon the Palestinian position and endorse Israel's vision. But what has drawn our attention more than anything else is Israel's attempt to redefine the idea of the two-state solution. Israel now wants mutual recognition - Israel as the national homeland of the Jews and, on what's left of the land, Palestine as the national homeland of the Palestinians."
Abu Sitta described the Israeli formula as "extremely dangerous," saying it should be rejected by all Arabs. He said accepting this formula would be tantamount to abandoning the Arab right to Palestine and accepting the Jews' ostensible historical and biblical rights to the land.
In addition, Abu Sitta argued, the Israeli stance abolishes the right of return for Palestinians on two levels: recognition of this right and its fulfillment. "This would constitute a historic burden; no Palestinian could bear its consequences in front of his people and history," he cautioned. He said it was inconceivable that the Palestinians would abandon the right of return after decades of fighting.
Representatives of Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon also appealed to Abbas not to relinquish the right of return. In letters to Abbas, they criticized Abbas's promise to hold a referendum on any deal he reaches with Israel. "Since when are our rights a disputed matter?" they asked. They said such a referendum would be meaningless because it would be held only in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Qurei was recently appointed head of the Palestinian team negotiating with Israel. In a series of interviews with Arab newspapers over the weekend, he said the Palestinians were hoping to strike a deal with Israel within five to six months.
"There must be a clear timetable outlining when the negotiations begin and when they are supposed to end," Qurei said. "Otherwise, the issue will remain open forever. We can reach an agreement quickly provided that there is a serious intention [on the part of Israel]."
Qurei added that the document he and his colleagues were hoping to draft with their Israeli counterparts before the conference would form the basis for future negotiations on a final settlement. "What's important is the content of the document," he said. "If it's going to be an unclear document, then we don't need it." Qurei said the document must include an Israeli pledge to return to the pre-1967 borders. However, he did not rule out the possibility that the Palestinians would agree to "limited border amendments."
Asked how the Palestinians would react if an agreement on the core issues was not achieved in the coming weeks, he said: "Then this would not be a good situation. We will be forced to look into other options - including whether or not we would attend the conference."
The Prime Minister's Office declined to comment on Qurei's statements.
On the refugees, Rami Khouri, a prominent Palestinian-Jordanian editor, wrote in Lebanon's English-language Daily Star: "The hardest issue to resolve is the status and rights of Palestinian refugees, of whom there are now 4.5 million living outside Palestine (they were 750,000 when they first became refugees in 1948). All other contentious matters - land, sovereignty, recognition, settlements, water, security, Jerusalem - now appear resolvable, given the years of negotiations that have taken place by the concerned parties. The refugee issue, however, remains both intractable and existential for both sides."
Khouri said Abbas was dangerously close to being seen by many in the Arab world as a hapless American-Israeli puppet; his political party, Fatah, has been largely discredited as a corrupt, bloated and inefficient burden on society, and no longer represents majority Palestinian thinking; and the absence of Hamas from the Annapolis meeting would render the Palestinian delegation's credentials "rather thin."
"There is one way that Abbas can overcome these constraints, which recalls a major weakness that contributed to the collapse of the Camp David talks in 2000: He should consult widely, deeply and sincerely with ordinary and politically active Palestinians throughout the world, in order to be able to attend the Annapolis talks as a credible representative of the Palestinians," Khouri wrote.
Abbas said Friday that he expected at least 36 nations to attend the conference, including 12 Arab states, another three Muslim nations, the permanent members of the UN Security Council and the G-8.
"We hope that the number will increase to 40 states," Abbas was quoted as telling Palestinian dignitaries from Jerusalem, during a meal breaking the dawn-to-dusk Ramadan fast.
The remarks were quoted by the Palestinian news agency WAFA and confirmed by a participant.
Abbas did not provide a list of countries expected to attend. The US has not released such a list or set a date for the conference.
In Friday's meeting with Palestinian dignitaries, Abbas told his guests that a solution for Jerusalem would be a key to any peace deal.
"Jerusalem has always been in our hearts, and the hope that we have been looking at," Abbas said. "There is no independent Palestinian state without Jerusalem as its capital. It is a concern in the coming, difficult days."
Herb Keinon contributed to this report.
Is there a more worthless group of humans on the planet that the palis? (Just curious.)
This is why the whole “peace” exercise is pointless. There will always be some Palestinian faction that will not recognize Israel. This might be by circumstance or (as I suspect) by design. As a result, there will always be a reason to resist (by rocket attacks, suicide bombing, or other terror) no matter how much Israel gives up. In the end, the Arabs will only be happy when the Jews are driven into the sea.
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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Nearly sixty years and they’re still refugees? That’s practically an entire human lifetime. How many more generations will these people squander before they come to their senses? Europe was filled with refugees in 1945 but after a few years everyone had resettled somewhere and got on with their lives.
The entire goal of the Jordanian Muslims in Israel is to destroy Israel. Keep in mind that they do not necessarily see themselves as a free and independent people. Their goal is just destruction.
The so called ‘Palestinians’ have no standing in the Arab world. And should they ever manage their well publicized goal of defeating Israel, they would just be invaded by everyone. Lebanon would take the north, Syria would take the Galilee, Egypt would take the south, Jordan would take the West, Iran would send thousands of Jihadists to disrupt everything, Saudi would have to counter with their own suicidal idiots.
Wouldn’t it be ironic if the Nomadic Arabs in Israel succeeded, and wound up with a state of Tel Aviv, as the Jews have done, surrounded by murder and terrorism?
I dunno - a whole lot of Republicans are looking just as bad (just in a different way)...including that pervert liar Craig.
And I am extremely disappointed that Rice is over there trying to twist Israel’s arm into giving in to the Palis in the name of “peace”.
Israel needs to tell our administration to go pound sand.
The other issue is the “Right of Return”. How is one to judge, after all this time, who are the real decendents and who are the pretenders? The 4.5M estimate may be real or bogus (I am skeptical), but if Israel ever caved that number would swell to more like 10M+. The “Right of Return” would be suicide for Israel, but I’m sure there is some fool politician waiting in the wings who wouldn’t hestiate to try it to cement his/her “legacy”. No doubt this person would be encouraged by President Hillary.
The Euros also think that all their Islamic problems would go away if Israel fell. Nothing could be further from the truth. “Palestine” would become a terrorist mecca on the Mediterranian and the Jihadists (with Jerusalem in their claws) would be emboldened to conquer Europe proper.
Do you know how you rob someone in Europe, just walk up to them and say,”Give me your money or may not be nice to you.” They will give you their wallet, their wife, their home, and their children. They are unbelievable in their cowardice. It is like every male hormone has been sucked out of them and now they are just a bunch of cowering weenies praying that nobody will hurt them. Testosterone has become illegal in Europe.
As far as “Right of Return” goes, the Israelis have denigrated it. By losing the ‘faith’ so to speak, and what I mean by this is the pride of being Jewish, knowing what you are doing, and faith in the word of God as it is written, they diminish their claim on return.
The point is that the Torah says ‘take Israel without mercy’ “I have given it to you. Take it.” do not negotiate with those who oppose but rather kill them and their livestock.
Somehow this got translated in the 70s to, “Build apartments, hospitals, and schools for your enemies.” “Fund them and give them weapons.” “Make nice with everyone, and be meek and humble and they will love you in return.”
This is not the same Bible that I read. So, how do you claim ‘Right of return’ based on Biblical text and then refuse to do what the Bible say you must do. Either you believe it or not. You can’t say I believe that God gave Israel to the Jewish people, and in the same breath say, “But I think he was wrong about that ‘taking the land’ thing.” So, Which is it? God is either right or wrong.
Right of return does not mean that everything will suddenly be rosey. It comes with responsibilities which the Jews are not willing to accept.
So now the ones who want to "return" are 4.5 million? And I'm sure if the "right of return" were granted, that would swell to what, 10 million eager "returnees"? As opposed to only 7 million Israelis? So long, Jewish state. You are now outvoted, dhimmis.
The Palies are quite useful as pawns to Muslim regimes the world over; their existence is practically essential to these regimes' survival, in fact. It keeps the focus of their increasingly radical populaces away from the real injustices at home and onto an external enemy (Israel and the U.S.).
Don’t accept two-state solution, refugees tell Abbas...
f’n muzzie pali terrorists....peace is NOT a word in their vocabualry....yet condi rice wants to give these so-called refugees more US taxpayer money....another flush down the toilet...will NOT solve the problem!!!
The three most dangerous people in this whole “peace” settlement conference are George Bush looking for a legacy, even if it is a rotten one (like he was trying for with the amnesty bill), Condi Rice who is his useful pawn, thinks the Pali’s are downtrodden and will sell Israel out, and the biggest potential traitor of them all, Olmert, who will betray his country to the point that it will be destroyed sooner than later. These three are totally detrimental to Israel’s very existence. May this “deal” all fall through so that Israel may survive.
I have been to Israel 6 times and worked there during the 1990's. The people there are so loving and caring and yet between what has been their government and ours over the years they are trying to destroy them. Trying to give away the only defense (The Golan) and now trying to give away almost half of Israel to a bunch of Criminal Thugs whose original countries don't even want them, that is why they are refugees.
God's own words were that Israel was not to relinquish one square metre of land.
We shall see our own country in demise if we don't stop giving into the Muslims here! Inch by Inch and now Mile by Mile!
Where shall we go?
Amen. Couldn't have said it any better.
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