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Thursday, July 28, 2005 Palestinian Terms for Peace The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct 'Palestinian people' to oppose Zionism. -- PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein, March 31, 1977 Let us, for the sake...

EU says it would reconsider position on PA if Abu Ala resigns After meeting FM Shalom in Jerusalem, EU foreign affairs chief Solana says if Abu Ala ends up just as Abu Mazen, conclusions could be drawn. Gil Horev Solana (right) and Shalom today in Jerusalem (Foreign Ministry photo). If Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei (Abu Ala) resigns we would have to reconsider our position regarding the Palestinian Authority, European Union foreign affairs chief Javier Solana has stated. During a press conference he held with Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalom after a joint meeting this (Thursday) afternoon in Jerusalem, Solana said,...

Secretary Colin L. Powell Queen Alia International Airport Amman, Jordan May 15, 2004 www.state.gov/secretary/rm/32500.htm PRIME MINISTER QUREI: We are very pleased to talk to Secretary Powell. We discussed about the situation, about the peace process, how to revive the peace process forward. And I think we had very, very constructive talks this afternoon and I believe that it will reflect itself on the situation on the ground, hopefully very soon. And therefore we are very pleased and we welcome Mr. Powell again. SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you very much Mr. Prime Minister. It was good to be with you again, and...

Translation from Hebrew to English by me The US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, called Saturday night the Palestinian Prime Minister, Abu Ala, and asked him to look at the disengagement plan as a good way of getting territories. Powell told Abu Ala that this program is being done in the context of the roadmap, and it gives an opportunity for moving the peace. Powell asked Abu Ala to join in negotiation on this matter - so that the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas, will be the one that gets the territories Israel will be leaving in Gaza and northern Samaria...

Nov. 26, 2003 40 MKs protest Qurei's visit to Ze'evi's assassins By JPOST.COM STAFF Former Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi Photo: Archive Forty MKs (members of Knesset) from ruling coalition factions have signed a petition calling on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz to deal with the murderers of former Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi as they would "any other ticking bombs." Ze'evi, known by the nickname of Gandhi, was shot dead by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine gunmen on October 17, 2001, at Jerusalem's Hyatt Hotel. The petition, initiated by the National Union party, comes...

Last Update: 03/11/2003 23:14 Sharon: PA leadership that objects to terror will soon arise By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ahead of their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on Monday. (AP) MOSCOW - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who is on a visit to Russia, said Monday he believes that "very soon a Palestinian leadership that objects to the path of terror, violence and incitement of [PA Chairman] Yasser Arafat will arise, and will be prepared to act with us to honestly implement the road map. When that happens,...

Nov. 3, 2003 Arafat holding up Qurei govt. over interior minister By ASSOCIATED PRESS PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei Photo: AP Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei and Yasser Arafat made no apparent progress Monday toward resolving their dispute over the choice of security chief, the main hurdle to forming a new government. Qureia said after a two-hour meeting with the veteran Palestinian leader that the issue is "still under study." Qurei's formal deadline for forming a Cabinet is midnight Tuesday, though an Arafat aide later said he could ask for more time. Renewed political wrangling over the composition of the...

Oct. 28, 2003 Hamas accepts Qurei invitation to ceasefire meeting By LAMIA LAHOUD Palestinian official said Tuesday that Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei asked Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and other senior officials for a meeting to discuss a ceasefire and said Yassin had accepted the invitation. A Palestinian legislator predicted that not much would come out of these talks, since Hamas was making a ceasefire once again dependent on Israeli promises to end military incursions and targeted killings of Hamas leaders and militants. Israel, he said would not agree to these terms. He said Hamas has agreed to the talks since...

Oct. 13, 2003 Report: US seeking Arafat ouster with 'ill health' as reason By JPOST.COM STAFF The US is hoping for removal of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat by a "non-violent" coup presaged by a report suggesting Arafat is so ill he cannot carry out his duties, according to a report in the Saudi newspaper Al Watan. US officials are already trying to organize a joint Palestinian leadership that would rule until elections are held in the Palestinian Authority, the Saudi paper reported Monday. A translation of the report appeared on the Jordanian website albawaba.com The Saudi daily said recent reports...

Yaalon Supports Gestures to Abu Ala 13:42 Oct 03, '03 / 7 Tishrei 5764 Following the failure of the Israeli's government's gestures to Abu Mazen, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon now supports similar gestures to the new PA leadership headed by Abu Ala. Yaalon says that hundreds of terrorists should be freed, including those who took active part in attacks against Israelis, and says that almost all the checkpoints in Yesha should be removed. Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz and GSS head Avi Dichter oppose these moves, while Prime Minister Sharon's position is not yet known. In July,...

19:57 Arafat, Fatah`s Nasser Yussef row over control of security forces; Arafat spits at Yussef, who then walks out 23:46 Palestinian PM-elect Qureia says shelving bid to form gov`t due to Israel`s decision in principle to expel Arafat

Abu Mazen, last month's avatar of Palestinian statesmanship, is now gone, the victim of his own mediocrity. But not to worry, there won't be a void. The Palestinians, who produce so little, have a great reserve of ersatz leaders. Meet Abu Ala, the next Palestinian prime minister. Abu Ala, at 65, has a biography full of blank pages. He has spent his adult life scraping and fetching for The Big Abu, Yasser Arafat. Abu Ala, aka Ahmed Qureia, is better educated, better bred and better dressed than Abu Ammar, aka Arafat, but he lacks the essential ingredient of Palestinian political...

Sep. 9, 2003 Israel and US to examine Qurei's commitment to peace By JANINE ZACHARIA AND HERB KEINON Both Israel and the US express reservations regarding the recent appointment of Ahmed Qurei as the new Palestinian prime minister, insisting that the former Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker must prove himself by action. Senior Israeli officials, en route to India with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said Monday that the replacement of Mahmoud Abbas with Qurei is little more than "musical chairs" with Yasser Arafat in charge of turning on and off the music. If Qurie, tabbed by Arafat to form the next...

Sep. 8, 2003 Qurei accepts role of PM By KHALED ABU TOAMEH AND THE JERUSALEM POST INTERNET STAFFPalestinian official Ahmed Qurei (AP) Ahmed Qurei accepted the role of Palestinian prime minister on Monday night, following his formal appointment by PA Chairman Arafat during a meeting of Fatah central council. Qurei is expected to begin forming the new Palestinian government within the next few hours, completing it in a number of days. The decision to appoint Qurei, former Palestinian parliament speaker as prime minister, still has to be approved by the Palestinian Legislative Council, which is expected to convene in the...

Ahmed Qurei, known as Abu Ala, has still not accepted the position of prime minister in the Palestinian Authority. Abu Mazen, who resigned from the position two days ago, has said that he will not serve in a government formed by Abu Ala. Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman reports that Abu Ala presented fairly moderate positions when he served as one of the PA's chief negotiators in the early days of the Oslo process, "but has recently expressed much more extremist positions. He is very demanding of Jerusalem, and has said that both the west and east of the city must be...

Who is to blame for the resignation of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian prime minister? The question has been obscured by a smokescreen of recriminations and threats, but the answer is clear enough. Mr Abbas (better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mazen) was forced to relinquish the post that was created for him only 100 days ago by the man he was intended to replace: Yasser Arafat. The latter's brutal methods were symbolised by the masked thugs who tried to batter down the door of the Palestinian legislative council on Thursday while the prime minister was speaking. By refusing...

EU Approves of Abu Ala Appointment 06:01 Sep 08, '03 / 11 Elul 5763 (IsraelNN.com) European Union Foreign Minister Javier Solana last night announced it approves of the appointment of Abu Ala as the next PA prime minister. Officials in Jerusalem stated the true test will be if Abu Ala begins to combat terrorism and work towards fulfilling the PA’s obligation in accordance to the Road Map plan. Abu Ala last night was instructed to formulate his government within 48 hours.

The executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization approved Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's appointment of senior official Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala) as his next prime minister, on Sunday evening. A senior Palestinian official said Qureia was studying the proposal. His response is expected in these next few days. Arafat's decision to appoint Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Qurei as the next PA prime minister comes less than 48 hours after the resignation of Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, who on Sunday told reporters that he was determined not to backtrack. "I have submitted my resignation and it's final," Abbas declared. Sources...