Abbas requests urgent Arab League meeting on peace talks
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
26/09/2010
Meeting to calculate response if West Bank building resumes. Abbas: 'If settlement freeze ends, will consult Palestinian bodies, Arab League.'

The Palestinian Authority has requested an urgent meeting of the Arab League foreign ministers to discuss the future of the peace process after the moratorium on settlement construction was ending on Sunday night.

The request came as the PA continued to issue conflicting statements as to how it would respond if the Israeli government did not extend the moratorium..

While PA President Mahmoud Abbas and a senior official in Ramallah indicated that they would not pull out of the US-sponsored direct talks with Israel, other Palestinian representatives threatened to halt the negotiation if the construction in the settlements is resumed.

Abbas was quoted by the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper as saying that "if there is no understanding on the settlement freeze, we will go back to the Palestinian institutions and the Arab League."

Abbas said that until two days ago hadn't received any Israeli or American "formulas" and that he was still waiting for a final answer on the moratorium.

Abbas pointed out that US President Barack Obama did not give the Palestinians any assurances to the Palestinians on the issue of settlement construction or the establishment of a Palestinian state within one year.

"Obama only talked about hopes," Abbas said. "Obama undoubtedly has good intentions, but the test lies in the implementation of his good positions."

Abbas revealed that the Palestinians were demanding that a third party be present along the borders of the future Palestinian state "so as to calm all parties."

Abbas reiterated his refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. "I told the leaders of the Jewish community [in the US] when I met with them that every year they demand something new and we are not prepared to accept this at all. When they talk about a Jewish state, it's because they want to get rid of all the Arabs living in Israel."

Abbas also rejected the possibility of "militarizing" the intifada. "We tried it before and it led to destruction," he cautioned.

A senior PA official in Ramallah reiterated on Sunday that the Palestinians will continue with the direct talks even if the moratorium on settlement construction is not extended. The official said that pulling out of the talks at this stage "would harm the interests of the Palestinians."

However, Nabil Sha'ath, member of the PA delegation to the direct talks, said that the talks would be halted if the freeze wasn't extended. "Either the moratorium is extended or the peace process will unfortunately be stopped," he said. "Israel will bear full responsibility."

Sha'ath said that the Palestinians were not demanding that Israel dismantle the settlements now. "This is something that we will talk about," he said. "Why doesn't Israel extend the freeze for at least another five months?"

Maher Ghnaim, the PA Minister for Settlement and Wall Affairs, and senior Fatah official Mohammad Dahlan said that the peace talks can't continue while construction in the settlements was underway.

He claimed that even during the 10-month moratorium on settlement construction, Israel did not stop "building in the settlements, confiscating lands and demolishing houses."

In another development, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine [PFLP] announced that it was suspending its activities in the PLO in protest against the direct talks between the PA and Israel.

The PFLP is one of several Palestinian groups that operate under the umbrella of the PLO. Abbas's Fatah faction is the largest group in the PLO.

Mohammed Dahlan, member of the Fatah Central Council, expressed regret over the decision, which he described as "disappointing."

Good let's have an end to the so called peace talks. Israel always looses in these types of talks so please let the talks end.

The Palestinians want to destroy Israel for the 1967 border is only a step towards the destruction of Israel and the murder of 6.000.000 Jews.