Abbas Claims He Accepts Clinton Parameters -- But Has He Ever Read Them?

Jonathan D. Halevi asks the obvious question in light of Abbas' claim he accepts the Clinton Parameters: Has Mahmoud Abbas Really Accepted the Clinton Parameters on the Refugee Problem?.

Before leaving for his meeting with Obama, Abbas gave a speech to the Revolutionary Council on March 12, 2014, giving the "official stance" on the negotiations with Israel On the issue of Arab refugees, Abbas referenced the Clinton Parameters as containing 4 principles for solving the problem of Arab refugees who fled then-Palestine:

• a Palestinian who wants to remain where he is living will be able to do so and will receive compensation.
  
  
• a Palestinian who wants to move to another country must obtain the agreement of the two countries and will receive compensation.
  
  
• The third principle – a Palestinian who wants to live in the state of Palestine will be able to return to it.
  
  
• The fourth principle – a Palestinian who wants to live in the state of Israel will be able to return to it in keeping with the right of return.

But did Clinton actually say that Palestinian Arabs have a right to return and live in Israel?

Halevi points out that unlike returning to Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and Gaza, the text of Clinton Parameters do not give Arabs a "right" to live in Israel:

...In listing these options, the agreement will make clear that the return to the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and areas acquired in the land swap would be the right of all Palestinian refugees, while rehabilitation in host countries, resettlement in third countries and absorption into Israel will depend upon the policies of those countries.

Israel could indicate in the agreement that it intends to establish a policy so that some of the refugees would be absorbed into Israel consistent with Israel’s sovereign decision.(emphasis added)

Clearly the Clinton Parameters do not allow for any absolute right for Palestinian Arabs -- let alone their descendants -- to settle in Israel.

Abbas changing the rules once again. Credit: Algemeiner

Apparently, the principles set down by Clinton matter little to Abbas who signed a "Right of Return Law" in 2008, according to which:

The right of return is a natural, personal, collective, civil, political right passed on from father to son and is not annulled by the passage of time or by the signing of any agreement, and it cannot be abolished or waived in any way….

Anyone who violates the provisions of this Act will be considered guilty of the crime of treason and will be subject to all criminal and civil penalties prescribed for this crime.

So Abbas is dedicated to law -- as only a despot in the 10th year of his 4 year term can be.

And why not?
It's not as if anyone in the Obama administration is going to call him on his fabrications and corruption.


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