Abbas says he ‘can’t allow even one concession’Abbas of course has no problem with this, since no one will put their foot down--everyone is happy he even showed up. Yet one has to struck by the absurdity of it all. Abbas says very clearly that he will quit (the talks?) rather than concede on the "right of return" or the borders, yet:
Just four days after meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Washington, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday threatened again that the Palestinians will pull out of the direct talks if the construction freeze in the settlements, due to expire later this month, is not extended.
“The talks will be for this month only,” Abbas was quoted by the PA’s Al-Ayyam newspaper as saying. “If the Israeli government extends the freeze, we will continue with the talks. But if they don’t extend, we will withdraw from the negotiations.”
Abbas said that he made his position clear to US President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Netanyahu during last week’s launch of the direct talks in Washington.
Abbas stressed that he would not make any concessions to Israel.
“If they demand concessions on the rights of the refugees or the 1967 borders, I will quit. I can’t allow myself to make even one concession,” he said.
“With regards to the borders, we have to agree on the 1967 borders and draw them,” Abbas said. “If we agree on the borders, that means we have found a solution to the issues of Jerusalem, water and settlements. This will leave us with the issue of refugees, which will be dealt with during the second phase [of the talks].”How magnanimous that Abbas is will to accept one concession at a time.
So when Abbas says, “We said that we must seize the opportunity even if there’s a 1 percent chance for hope,” he means only a 1% chance that Israel will concede on all points.
If that is the case, then by all means: it is time to send Abbas packing.
The Arabs in the West Bank need a real leader.
Israel needs a real peace partner.
Abbas needs to retire--and considering his term ended almost 2 years ago, now would be a good time.
Technorati Tag: Mideast Peace Talks and Abbas.
2 comments:
Besides his fear of Hamas, Abu Bluff knows that any "painful concessions" from his side would spell the end of the Palestinian dream of destroying Israel.
The PA leadership - and that of Fatah - is not prepared to cross the ideological Rubicon to the full acceptance of the Jewish State in the Land Of Israel.
Don't hold your hopes up for that so-called two state solution bearing fruition any time soon.
But how many times can Abbas go around saying he is not going to make any concessions before people finally start to catch on?
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