Posted on 12/03/2005 5:58:52 PM PST by Esther Ruth
PA Appeals to Pope to Support 1949 Borders 00:14 Dec 04, '05 / 3 Kislev 5766 By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The PA turned to the Pope on Saturday to back a new Arab state with Jerusalem as its capital. Last week, the PA addressed the EU, which ignores Jerusalem's status as a united Israeli city.
Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestinian Authority (PA) invited Pope Benedict to visit Jerusalem and Bethlehem after meeting with Italian officials on Friday. He asked them to host an international peace conference, according to its Italian envoy, Nemer Hammad.
"You will be very welcome in Jerusalem and the holy places," Abbas told the Pope during a 20-minute private audience. Reuters News Agency reported, "By specifically mentioning Jerusalem, which is under full Israeli control, Abbas was making a clear political statement."
The PA radio network, Palestine National News, reported, "His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI accepted a Bethlehem passport from the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today [and] becomes the first new citizen of Bethlehem following the launch of 'Open Bethlehem', an international campaign to save the city." However, Abbas, denied that the document include a passport.
Abbas, as part of a public relations effort to support its demand that Jerusalem be the capital of a new Arab state, told the Pope, "If we can't hold democratic elections in Jerusalem, it will be difficult to do it in the other zones. At that point Israel will be responsible for the block of the democratic process in Palestine.
"The Oslo accords establish the right of Palestinians to take part in elections. The Palestinians in Jerusalem have to have the freedom to vote inside Jerusalem."
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said that the PA and Israel have signed previous agreements on voting and hoped "that the Palestinians will not try to unilaterally change them because this would not be a positive move."
Abbas' visit to Italy and his audience with the Pope were part of an ongoing campaign to win worldwide support for pressuring Israel to return to the 1949 Armistice Lines and to hand over eastern Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria to the PA for a new Arab state.
He visited several Arab nations early last summer to win personal support from Egypt, Syria, Jordan and other nations as he shored up his shaky rule. He then visited South American countries and last week attended the European Union (EU) conference in Barcelona.
The EU, ignoring the 1967 Knesset law that declared newly reunited Jerusalem to be part of Israel, has prepared a report claiming that the security fence is a "de-facto annexation" of Jerusalem.
The PA strategy has been based on its interpretation of the Bush administration's roadmap plan. It states that the objective is "a negotiated resolution on the status of Jerusalem that takes into account the political and religious concerns of both sides and protects the religious interests of Jews, Christians and Moslems worldwide." The document also refers to the Israeli "occupation that began in 1967" and calls for an Arab-Israeli agreement based on United Nations resolutions.
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Published: 23:38 December 03, 2005 Last Update: 00:14 December 04, 2005
Pennsylvania causing trouble again.
;-)
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/653116.html
Last update - 15:01 03/12/2005
Abbas meets Pope, invites him to Jerusalem and holy places
By Haaretz Service and News Agencies
VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI held talks on Saturday with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who expressed hope the pontiff would visit Jerusalem.
"You will be very welcome in Jerusalem and all the holy places," Abbas, speaking English, told the pope after their private 20-minute meeting, when journalists were allowed to witness their goodbyes.
"Thank you very much," the pope replied. Both men were smiling and appeared relaxed.
Last month, Israeli President Moshe Katsav invited Benedict to Israel, and said he hoped the pope would visit next year.
No details about Abbas' meeting with Benedict in the pontiff's library were released immediately.
The Palestinian leader scheduled a news conference for later in the afternoon in Rome.
The Vatican news bulletin listed the meeting, which was expected to include a review of Middle East tensions and peace prospects, without comment.
One of the members in the Palestinian delegation presented the pope with what was described as a "Palestinian passport." Instead of listing a name, the document said "Vatican City State," officials said. The delegate, who was not immediately identified by the Vatican, and the pope chatted in German briefly as Benedict examined the document.
Abbas' visit to the Vatican, which included separate talks with the pope's secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, was his last major appointment of a three-day visit to Italy. Middle East peace prospects were expected to be on the agenda of talks Saturday.
The appointment at the Vatican was the last major appointment of a three-day visit to Italy by Abbas.
Abbas vowed on Friday to end the violence that marred primary elections across the Palestinian territories earlier in the week. He also promised "security and transparency" in next month's parliamentary elections.
On Friday, at a news conference with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, Abbas praised Sharon, who recently formed a new political party for the upcoming March 28 elections.
Abbas expressed confidence that the Israeli people would chose the path of peace in the Israeli elections.
Last time I checked the Pope was Catholic...
Specter or SPECTRE? :-)
Yeah, as long as Muslims aren't in control.
It must be those Amish troublemakers!
Let's "internationalize" Jeruselum when Mecca and Medina are internationalized. What a joke. The Pali's treat Jewish and Christian holy sites with contempt. There demand for east-Jeruselum should likewise be treated with contempt.
Note to Pope: You can't bring a Bible or other non-Islamic religious symbols, and you can't pray in the holy places. Otherwise, come on down.
Also, last time I checked, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and sovereign territory of Israel.
I suppose the PA can invite anybody there, but it means as much as if I issued the invitation: nothing.
Support us now. We will kill you later.
I hope the pope say, "Up yours!"
Typical Muzzle garbage. We save their butts around the world and they want to kill us even more than ever. I hope Benedict remembers this. If he helps them, they will probably nuke the Vatican.
How about the '48 borders? Before the Arab armies attacked the newly declared state of Israel, whose border were the same as the existing British mandate of Palestine. Those were established in 1923, after over half of Palestine was given to the Arabs/Muslims and renamed Trans-Jordon, and later Jordon. Those included all of Gaza and the West Bank. The '49 borders were established by an aggressive war, which was originally intended to wipe out the state of Israel entirely.
What's to discuss?
As a cease-fire, it was never honored...
Excepting the agreement with Lebanon, the armistice agreements were clear (at Arab insistence) that they were not creating permanent or de jure borders. The Egyptian-Israeli agreement stated "The Armistice Demarcation Line is not to be construed in any sense as a political or territorial boundary, and is delineated without prejudice to rights, claims and positions of either Party to the Armistice as regards ultimate settlement of the Palestine question."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949_Armistice_Agreement
Now those "arabs calling themselves palestinians" want to change the rules, and call up an agreement that they themselves insisted was not "definitive" and had no standing as a border or boundary agreement..
None whatsoever..
..........................................
Oh great, and Santorum wonders why his credibility with the base is slipping!
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