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Abbas in US to press for settlement freeze
[Al Arabiya Latest] Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Washington early Wednesday for his first official meeting with President Barack Obama as Jordan summoned the Israeli envoy in Amman to protest a reported Israeli proposal to set up a Palestinian state in Jordan.
| How can Israel do that? Jordan already is a Palestinian state, albeit with foreign Hashemite rulers. |
The presidential talks are expected to focus on Israel's continued building of settlements in occupied territory. The Palestinian Authority has ruled out restarting peace talks with Israel unless the Jewish states, removes all roadblocks and freezes settlement activity, top negotiator Ahmad Qorei told the Haaretz daily.
He said Abbas would present the conditions during the White House talks with Obama Thursday.
| "Conditions"? I thought the point was negotiation. After all. Mr. Qorei is defined as a top negotiator. |
| I think that means something different than what you and I think it means ... |
The discussions come just 10 days after Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has ignored calls from the United States for a complete freeze on settlement building in the occupied West Bank and rejected limits on building Jewish enclaves in Jerusalem.
| President Obama did want the U.S. to be seen as not dictating to other countries. How nice that he started with Israel. |
Posted by: Fred 2009-05-28 |
