|
Palestinians: Right of return is sacred
 The Palestinian Authority on Monday gave a lukewarm reaction to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's offer to withdraw from large parts of the West Bank and return to the negotiating table, while Hamas described the statements as a "conspiracy." "Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's statements are not in accordance with the road map and the [2002] Arab peace initiative," said Nabil Abu Rudaineh, a spokesman for PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. "We want the implementation of the United Nations resolutions concerning the establishment of a Palestinian state within the territories that were occupied in 1967. With regards to the issue of the refugees, we want a solution based on United Nations resolution 194." Abu Rudaineh added that the Palestinians remain committed only to the road map and the Arab peace initiative as the only way to achieve peace in the Middle East. "The only way to achieve peace is by implementing the road map and the Arab peace initiative, and not by coming up with new initiatives," he said. "We need serious negotiations and actions, not only words." Syria-based Musa Abu Marzouk, the No. 2 man in the Hamas leadership, said the right of return for the refugees is "sacred" for all Palestinians. "The Palestinian people will never give up this sacred right," he said. "Our people have been fighting for 58 years to achieve the right of return for all those who were expelled from their homeland. We reject any deal that does not recognize the right of return." Taysir Khaled, member of the PLO executive committee and a representative of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said the content of Olmert's speech reflected a hard-line stance. "How can Olmert ask the Palestinians to renounce their right to resist the occupation?" he asked, referring to Olmert's call for ending Palestinian terror. "We also don't understand his demand that the Palestinians give up the right of return for the refugees and form a unity government according to conditions set by the US and Israel." Posted by: Fred 2006-11-28 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=173326 |