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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Dahlan works damage control as UN outrage spreads |
| 2009-10-05 |
| Ma'an -- Muhammad Dahlan, a senior Fatah official, told Ma'an on Saturday that the Palestine Liberation Organization would investigate why debate of South African justice Richard Goldstone's report was postponed at the UN on Friday. "We've called for a commission of inquiry into what motivated the deferral request, to find out what happened," he said during an interview in Ramallah, vowing to uncover what led the PLO's envoy to Geneva to drop the endorsement. Dahlan's remarks came just hours before Mahmoud Abbas formally announced an inquest into what was widely believed to be the president's own decision, made following some reportedly swift but effective wrangling from the Palestinian Authority's US allies. As outrage spread throughout Palestine, and particularly his native Gaza, Dahlan sought to distance himself and Fatah from the wildly unpopular move, which has forced the UN Human Rights Council to delay action on the report until next March. "Fatah has a dynamic vision," he said, reiterating strong support for Goldstone, and adding that its Central Committee had convened an entire session devoted to studying and unanimously endorsing the report's findings, before it made "a clear statement in this regard." Ma'an's records on the most recent official meeting, held on Friday, include no mention of Goldstone, nor does any similar report published since his bombshell investigation was released in September. But on Saturday, several members met to write up a news release that said Fatah had "adopted the report and all its contents." "The committee expresses its deep regret for the damage caused by the postponement," the statement added. Meanwhile, Dahlan urged Palestinians not to rush to judgment, since it was apparently unclear who was calling the shots in the first place. "You have to distinguish between Fatah, the PLO and the PA," he insisted, "as each body has its own platform, so in any case one body could agree [to postpone the report] while another wouldn't, especially considering these latest developments." Dahlan added, "We've looked into what happened, but we don't yet have enough information about the [UN's procedural] mechanics that led to the ambassador's decision, so we're waiting for the president to return before we convene the [PLO] Executive Committee." Shortly after he attended the UN General Assembly in New York, Abbas was in Cuba before ultimately landing in Yemen on Sunday. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 meantime Yasser Arafat is in stable condition |
| Posted by: lord garth 2009-10-05 00:37 |