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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Palestinians: Negotiation with Israel Cannot Start from Zero |
| 2010-08-25 |
| [La Prensa] Peace talks with Israel to be resumed September 2 cannot begin from scratch, and no Israeli dictate would be accepted, Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saab Erekat said on Monday. "The previous negotiations followed a long road, and we made it to an advanced point in them; therefore, taking backwards and starting from scratch is not possible," Erekat said. At a press briefing, Erekat said the Palestinian people would not accept Israel's dictates at next week's meeting, which also involves President Mahmoud Abbas and Israelu Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Bilateral peace talks were held i 1993 and 2000 in Oslo, Finland; Thaba, Egypt (2001); and Annapolis, Maryland, the United States, in 2007 and 2008. Erekat's statements seemed to refute Netanyahu's insistence since assuming office in March 2009 on considering irrelevant the concessions made by his predecessor Ehud Olmert. The Palestinian official also mentioned a letter addressed today to the Middle East Quartet (Russia, the United States, the European Union and the UN) saying that the future of negotiations with Israel are also liked to Netanyahu ending the construction of Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. September 26th marks the deadline of Israel's ten-month freeze on settlement construction at the colonies. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 Erekat=Arafat? At least they are keeping Zero out. |
| Posted by: Muggsy Glink 2010-08-25 18:15 |
| #3 Maybe we should consider destroying Palestine and then building triumphal synagogues and churches. It's O.K. We are building bridges. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-08-25 09:59 |
| #2 1. Abbas's term ended in 2009. 2. Abbas's popularity is probably about 10% in the PA and about 5% in Gaza. 3. The population has been educated to pray for the extermination of Israel. 4. The PA security forces couldn't hold their own against Hamas in the west bank without IDF backup. What kind of peace treaty can come out of that? |
| Posted by: lord garth 2010-08-25 08:11 |
| #1 Ah well, the show must go on (hopefully somebody will whisper in Bambi's ear that Hildi will gain too much power if there's an agreement.) |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2010-08-25 01:52 |