Another sign of Palestinian moderation
Another sign of Palestinian moderation
According to Ha'aretz:
Speaking after meeting Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus on Monday, PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas called for the Palestinians and Syria to coordinate their stance in any peace talks, saying that it would prevent Israel from playing one side off against the other during negotiations.
"We spoke a while ago with President Bashar about coordination with Syria and we said we start with consultations and then we move to the stage of coordination," Abbas told reporters after the talks.
"The Palestinian-Israeli situation and the Syrian-Israeli situation require a form of coordination and consultation so that... the Israelis do not exploit our respective positions. Therefore we want to walk side by side," Abbas said.
Let's see in 2000 Israel offered Syria over 90% of the territory that Syria claims will allow it to declare nonbelligerancy with Israel. Papa Assad refused the offer coming directly from President Clinton and went to his grave without making peace. Later that year Israel offered Arafat over 90% of the territory he claimed he needed to stop making war on Israel and he refused it and went to his grave without making peace.
The problem isn't that Israel would play one side off the other. The problem is that the other side doesn't want peace.
I was even about to credit the PA for at least making cosmetic changes as this MEMRI report says:
In the Friday sermon of December 3, 2004, broadcast on Palestinian Authority TV, preacher Muhammad Jammal Abu Hunud called for the development of a modern Islamic discourse, to recognize the "other," to treat him with tolerance, and to avoid extremism and violence. [1] The sermon was broadcast from the Presidency Mosque in Gaza, in the presence of PLO Chairman Abu Mazen, Secretary-General of the Presidency, Al-Tayyib 'Abd Al-Rahim, the former Interior Minister Hani Al-Hasan, and other high-ranking officers. The preacher read the sermon from a sheet of paper.
But the Ha'aretz report shows that Abbas is giving veto power to Baby Assad. Not only that but he was planning to meet with Khaled Meshaal, whom Israel failed to dispatch a few years ago:
Abbas and Qureia were also to meet Monday with several leaders of the Palestinian opposition in Damascus - including Khaled Mashal, head of Hamas' political department; Ramadan Abdullah Shalah, secretary of Islamic Jihad; George Habash, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine; and Naif Hawatmeh, head of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine - to discuss a possible joint course of action for the Palestinian faction and whether a second hudna (cease-fire) can be expected after the elections in the PA.
What a euphemism! Apparently in the Ha'aretz lexicon "opposition" means "terror groups".
Crossposted on
Israpundit and
Soccer Dad.
Posted by David Gerstman at December 6, 2004 04:48 PM
Another sign of Palestinian moderation
According to Ha'aretz:
Let's see in 2000 Israel offered Syria over 90% of the territory that Syria claims will allow it to declare nonbelligerancy with Israel. Papa Assad refused the offer coming directly from President Clinton and went to his grave without making peace. Later that year Israel offered Arafat over 90% of the territory he claimed he needed to stop making war on Israel and he refused it and went to his grave without making peace.
But the Ha'aretz report shows that Abbas is giving veto power to Baby Assad. Not only that but he was planning to meet with Khaled Meshaal, whom Israel failed to dispatch a few years ago:What a euphemism! Apparently in the Ha'aretz lexicon "opposition" means "terror groups".The problem isn't that Israel would play one side off the other. The problem is that the other side doesn't want peace.
I was even about to credit the PA for at least making cosmetic changes as this MEMRI report says:
Crossposted on Israpundit and Soccer Dad.
Posted by David Gerstman at December 6, 2004 04:48 PM