Posted on 08/12/2005 9:13:20 AM PDT by Alouette
Palestinian Authority leaders on Thursday strongly condemned Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's statements regarding the future of Jerusalem, the settlement blocs in the West Bank and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who was scheduled to meet with Islamic Jihad leaders in Gaza City on Thursday night to discuss the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank, criticized Sharon's remarks as unacceptable.
On the eve of the meeting, Islamic Jihad leader Muhammad Hindi said his group would continue to launch attacks even after the "escape" from the Gaza Strip.
"The Zionist retreat from the Gaza Strip won't end the resistance," he said. "The resistance will continue until the expulsion of the occupation from all our lands, including the West Bank, Jerusalem and all of Palestine."
He said that Islamic Jihad views the disengagement as a direct result of the "resistance" and rocket attacks over the past few years. "The pressure of the resistance, as well as the steadfastness of our people and the rockets of our fighters all led the enemy to take the decision to run away from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank," he said.
Commenting on Sharon's statements, Abbas told reporters: "We reject such statements and we do not accept what Sharon said yesterday. No one has the right to cancel issues from negotiations between us and them. These issues will be raised during final-status negotiations with Israel."
In an interview with Channel 1 on Wednesday night, Sharon said, "I will not negotiate on the subject of Jerusalem. The blocs will remain territorially linked to the State of Israel. At the same time, there will be no return of Palestinian refugees to Israel."
PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei said after the weekly cabinet meeting in Ramallah that the PA would not make any concessions on the West Bank, Jerusalem or the refugees.
"After Sharon's statements, what's left to negotiate with Israel?" he asked. "Has Sharon decided to apply the unilateral disengagement in the Gaza Strip also to the West Bank?"
Calling on the international community to clarify its position vis-a-vis Sharon's statements, Qurei said the PA still hadn't received enough answers from Israel regarding the pullout. He warned that disengagement would not mean the end of occupation as long as Israel continues to maintain control over all the border crossings into the Gaza Strip.
Nabil Abu Rudaineh, a spokesman for the PA, also dismissed Sharon's statements as unacceptable. "The Palestinian Authority is not bound by Sharon's three nos," he said. "They are in violation of the road map.
We can't accept any solution that is not reached through negotiations."
PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat also lashed out at Sharon, saying the only solution is the withdrawal of Israel to the 1967 borders, including Jerusalem, and the implementation of UN Resolution 194 regarding the right of refugees to return to their homes.
"The peace process with Israel is based on the withdrawal of Israel to the pre-1967 borders," Erekat told the Palestine News Network. "There are no other peace equations. Sharon's noes will collapse just like Israel's refusal to recognize the PLO and the Palestinian state."
Meanwhile, following a spate of kidnappings involving international aid workers and journalists in the Gaza Strip in recent weeks, Abbas on Thursday instructed the PA security forces to provide protection for all foreigners.
"It's our duty to protect all our guests," Abbas said. "It's the duty of all Palestinians to protect the foreign aid workers working in our territories."
His comments came in response to the kidnapping, earlier this week, of two UN employees in Khan Yunis.
The two, a Swiss and a Briton working for UNRWA, were abducted by Fatah gunmen. They were freed unharmed an hour later when a special PA police force stormed a house in the center of the city.
"Any attack on our foreign guests is an assault on the law," Abbas said. "We won't allow anyone to harm them in any way."
He added that he had issued instructions to the security forces to arrest all those behind the kidnappings and to bring them to court.
The latest kidnappings were carried out by a Fatah militia affiliated with Farouk Kaddoumi, the Tunis-based chairman of the Fatah's central committee. The kidnappers said they were reacting to the arrest of one of their leaders last Sunday by the Preventative Security Service in the Gaza Strip. In response to the arrest, Kaddoumi on Thursday issued an order expelling all members of the Preventative Security Service from Fatah.
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
These demands say it all. Inch, by inch, by inch...
"PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat also lashed out at Sharon, saying the only solution is the withdrawal of Israel to the 1967 borders, including Jerusalem, and the implementation of UN Resolution 194 regarding the right of refugees to return to their homes."
In a better world, him and his buddies would all be dead.
This is the brilliance of the disengagement plan. No one expects it to bring peace. But what it will do is give Israel a target, in addition to fragmenting the Palis. While the Palis fight amongst themselves over the spoils of the withdrawl, Israel can pick them off. When you control a territory from which people attack you, your hands are tied. When someone else controls it, you can go to war...
You lost three wars trying to get your way by force.
Israel WON all three. They get to make the rules.
Do you need that re-stated using smaller words?
bump
If you are right, Sharon is a genius. The putrefying fly in the perfume is the World, especially the diabolical Condoleeza Rice and the USofA that may not allow Israel to go to war. In much the same way we in the US are expected to stand idly by while we are invaded, robbed, our daughters and wives ravished, our property carried off, the Israelis are supposed to stand by like good "chews" while the "8 X 40s" (if that's the right term) roll up to take everybody off to the "summer" camps. Two pieces of baggage apiece please, and don't forget your valuables.
The PA says it cannot accept any solution that is not reached by negotiations????!!!!!! What nonsense. All they've ever achieved they've achieved at the point of a gun!!
Let Israel settle this once and for all. All out war against the Palestinians and anyone else who wants to join in. It's coming at sometime in the future, lets get it over with whilst we have some troops over there.
Notice they don't even bother to say "East" Jerusalem any more.
This could lead to war. Don't the Palestinians understand that these areas are a legitimate part of The Greater Albania?
And what ever happened to my idea to have the Saudis buy every Palestinian a ranch in Northwestern Iraq, or the emptier parts of Afghanistan? The Muslim world is blowing a big chance for some worthwhile economic development.
Imagine that. Working, instead of sitting around talking about Muhammed, May Peace Be Upon Him, and strapping dynamite on to your kids.
Give them an inch they want a mile.
Look at it this way: while the Palis launch their attacks from the "occupied" territories, what can Israel do? They are the "bully" beating up on the people they are "oppressing." But when Palis are sneaking over the wall, you can shoot them just like you do any invader. What is the protest going to be, how dare you shoot a foriegner sneaking into your county to bomb you? Sure, the French and Germans are going to say that, anyway, anti-Semites that they are. But the U.S. is in a much better position to turn a blind eye to it. It's very sad that Israel must formulate domestic policy to help give the U.S. cover, but that's the way I read this move. Stronger borders and a defined target... two big positives in the war on terror (and the Palis are part of the war on terror)...
This could lead to war. Don't the Palestinians understand that these areas are a legitimate part of The Greater Albania?
And what ever happened to my idea to have the Saudis buy every Palestinian a ranch in Northwestern Iraq, or the emptier parts of Afghanistan? The Muslim world is blowing a big chance for some worthwhile economic development.
Imagine that. Working, instead of sitting around talking about Muhammed, May Peace Be Upon Him, and strapping dynamite on to your kids.
If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.
I pray you're right. Some days I actually believe it. And other days I wake up so angry at Sharon, Rice, and Booosh I could spit.
Some days I feel like I'm living through 1935-38. The period we never paid much attention to when studying history because the part when all the guns started firing was so much more interesting.
Sadly enough it's only the terrorists who truly see the reality of this issue.
I agree, but people just can't see it that way. Remove the issues, then you remove their justification, and their support from UN Jew haters. It gives Israel the right to attack in defense. We all know there will be no peace, but this puts Israel in a much better position. Even biblicaly. Try it God's way.
As we can see, any "excuse" you give them, works in their favor regardless how obvious the true intentions of these Jihadists are. Remove every excuse, them hammer them when they break the peace.
I know, I feel the same way, but Bush has proved to be smarter than we give him credit for in the past.
We've tried everything else before, so lets try it this way.
every single oppertunity for peace will rest will the Palestinians (no such thing). We KNOW and I'm sure Bush knows, that they don't want peace. But this will put everything in Israels favor, including justification to defend itself.
How many days do you think the next war will last? 1 day 2? LoL! Israel will end up gaining more than the slivers they gave up in the long run. Have faith.
Like that's never happened before. Remember camp David? Then as now, the true goal is to wipe every last Jew off the planet, starting with the ME. Christians are on that list too, as well as every other non- Muslim. After this fails, the UN will have no choice but to return to the 1938 promised British division.
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