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Israel-Palestine
The Good News: Paleo Groups to Honor Cease-Fire
2005-03-18
The Bad News: Read the text of their announcement.
Cairo Declaration:
(1) Those gathered confirmed their adherence to Palestinian principles, without any neglect, and the right of the Palestinian people to resistance in order to end the occupation, establish a Palestinian state with full sovereignty with Jerusalem as its capital, and the guaranteeing of the right of return of refugees to their homes and property.
"We can continue to seethe and explode anytime we choose, we can flood the Territories with millions of Paleo wannabes, and Jerusalem is ours."
(2) Those gathered agreed on a program for the year 2005, centered on the continuation of the atmosphere of calm in return for Israel's adherence to stopping all forms of aggression against our land and our Palestinian people, no matter where they are, as well as the release of all prisoners and detainees.
"Israel can't fight back, and they must return all our failed splodeydopes and bloodthirsty loons. It's just not the same without them. We miss Mahmoud so..."
(3) Those gathered confirmed that the continuation of settlement and the construction of the wall and the Judaization of Jerusalem are explosive issues.
"Mr. Sharon, tear down this wall! We can't get close enough to your buses and nightclubs from over here. Oh, and Jerusalem is ours."
(4) Those gathered explored the internal Palestinian situation and agreed on the necessity of completing total reform in all areas, of supporting the democratic process in its various aspects and of holding local and legislative elections at their determined time according to an election law to be agreed upon. The conference recommends to the Legislative Council that it take steps to amend the legislative elections law, relying on an equal division (of seats) in a mixed system, and it recommends that the law for elections of local councils be amended on the basis of proportional representation.
Sounds good to me. Voting is good, democracy is good, proportional representation is good.
(5) Those gathered agreed to develop the Palestine Liberation Organization on bases that will be settled upon in order to include all the Palestinian powers and factions, as the organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. To do this, it has been agreed upon to form a committee to define these bases, and the committee will be made up of the president of the National Council, the members of the PLO's Executive Committee, the secretaries general of all Palestinian factions and independent national personalities. The president of the executive committee will convene this committee.
"We stand as one...down with Jooos!"
(6) Those gathered felt unanimously that dialogue is the sole means of interaction among all the factions, as a support to national unity and the unity of the Palestinian ranks. They were unanimous in forbidding the use of weapons in internal disputes,
Heh.
respecting the rights of the Palestinian citizen and refraining from violating them, and that continuing dialogue through the coming period is a basic necessity toward unifying our speech and preserving Palestinian rights.
Somehow, I fail to be reassured...
Posted by:seafarious

#6  1. Pals are holding right of return as a bargaining chip. Though note with interest rumours of a Jordanian proposal that gives that up.

2. 9 months truce probably isnt enough to justify release of ALL prisoners. Israel will give up some more, and dare them to break the truce.

3. PR - I dont know - i fear thats a concession to Hamas, but dont know the PAl electoral map enough to say

4. Unity in new PLO - yeah, right, for now.

5. Dont get intoxicated - perhaps Yaalon was warning us not to get drunk on Purim ;) But yeah, trust but VERIFY is still a good idea.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2005-03-18 12:46:12 PM  

#5  Right of Return = Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
Posted by: Frank G   2005-03-18 10:22:01 AM  

#4  Day after Cairo agreement, Chief of staff says terror groups utilizing calm to arm and re-group.

That's how it's always been. Other than the fact that Yasser is pushing up daisies, there's no other reason to believe that it's going to be any different this time around. Anyone that does think it's different is only fooling themselves.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2005-03-18 10:14:42 AM  

#3  SOS
Posted by: raptor   2005-03-18 7:47:32 AM  

#2   Ya'alon: 'Do not get intoxicated by current calm'
Day after Cairo agreement, Chief of staff says terror groups utilizing calm to arm and re-group.

Posted by: gromgorru   2005-03-18 6:12:56 AM  

#1  The first passage alone indicates that they aren't serious about a meaningful solution. There is NO "right of return". Take what's on the table now and show some good will and build something worthwhile out of it, and there will be good reason to go even further. Otherwise, there is no justification for any further discussions on any subject regarding a Paleo "state".
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2005-03-18 1:12:07 AM  

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