World powers on Tuesday demanded immediate Palestinian action to catch those behind a Tel Aviv suicide bombing that broke a fragile ceasefire with Israel. hmmm. this is a substantive change in their positions from the past. are "world powers" finally getting it - that you can't deal with terror through "negotiation?"
Palestinians responded angrily to the statement by the Middle East quartet comprising the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States, while Israel complained that Palestinians were failing to confront militant groups.
standard paleo response. it used to be that "strong condemnation" was enough to get the quartet off their backs. well, in english, that is. guess they're angry that tactic isn't enough anymore. it's about time.
The quartet met on the sidelines of a London meeting on Palestinian reform hosted by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and clouded by Friday's suicide bombing of a Tel Aviv nightclub, in which five people were killed. The group called for "immediate action by the Palestinian Authority to apprehend and bring to justice the perpetrators" and demanded "further and sustained action" against terrorism.
isn't "immediate action to apprehend and bring to justice terrorists" part of the roadmap, anyway???
"We are very upset at the quartet statement," said a Palestinian official who asked not to be identified.
"it means we have to do something constructive. this is unacceptable!"
| "And we ain't gonna do it! They'll have to come up with something else!" |
that was yasser's line. he wore it out.
"They (quartet members) are putting security as the first approach as if they want the occupied Palestinians to give security to their Israeli occupiers," the official said.
Israel has ceded much so far. now it's the paleo's turn. after all:
The bombing had undermined the truce declared by new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at a summit three weeks ago. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, whose country was not represented at the London meeting, attacked Abbas for trying to win the cooperation of Palestinian militant, not crush them. "I am very sorry the Palestinian leadership is still hesitating over its need to fight terror," Shalom said. "It has to be clear that as long as they don't take the strategic decision to dismantle terrorist infrastructure, we cannot truly advance toward peace," he told Israeli army radio.
at LEAST the quartet now sees that you must fight terrorism. this is a paradigm shift. well, they say it's important to fight terrorism, at least.
| My guess is that it's not a paradign shift, just a temporary wobble, brought on by the fact that Yasser's in stable condition, Iraq's voted, and the Lebanese are making faces at the Syrians. As soon as it's safe, half the quartette will go back to doing nothing much. |
isn't this part of the "halt violence" effort?
Participants, who included Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan as well as Arab and European foreign ministers, told Israelis and Palestinians to meet their obligations under a peace "road map." The final statement offered Palestinians support for security forces trying to stop attacks on Israelis, for parliamentary polls and for efforts to ensure order when Israel removes Jewish settlers from the occupied Gaza Strip.
all makes sense.
In return the Palestinians vowed to pursue security reforms, hold elections on schedule in July and fight corruption.
that too, makes sense.
A draft of the London statement said the path to peace required direct talks leading to "a safe and secure Israel and a sovereign, independent, viable, democratic and territorially contiguous Palestine, living side by side in peace and security."
don't tell us, tell IJ, hamas, hezbollah, al aqsa.
Rice said her pointman on Palestinian security reform, Lieutenant-General William Ward, would move to the region, where he will coordinate security contacts between the two sides. A Palestinian official said Ward was welcome. "We need him to be a witness to the actions of both sides," Mejdi al-Khaldi, an aide to Foreign Minister Nasser al-Kidwa, told Reuters. Abbas told the meeting that reforms must be backed by peace negotiations with Israel, saying security efforts could collapse unless supported by a "serious political track."
just stop the terror and you'll get your negotiations, Abby.
He urged new efforts to implement the nearly two-year-old road map, stalled by violence and upstaged by Sharon's unilateral Gaza withdrawal plan. Palestinians want governments to press Israel to ensure that any Gaza pullout is part of the road map, not a one-off move to perpetuate Israeli control of West Bank settlements.
didn't Israel already say they'd do that? UNLESS there is no halt to terror?
Gaza is home to 1.3 million Palestinians and the West Bank to 2.3 million. Nearly 240,000 Jews live in settlements in the territories, which Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.
RICE MESSAGE TO ISRAEL
Rice said it was vital to stop violence by militants, but Israel must also do its part. "Israel must take no actions that prejudice a final settlement, and must help ensure that a new Palestinian state is truly viable. A state of scattered territories will not work," she said in remarks that echoed the quartet statement. Representatives of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund were also attending. British officials expect some countries to pledge cash to plug short-term gaps, setting the stage for a donor conference by the end of June.
donor conference? as things go, they'll need spleens and kidneys, mainly.