PALESTINIANS and Arabs have seen a possible breakthrough in Middle East peace talks.
Key Palestinian and Arab leaders been surprised by what they now see as the real possibility that the new round of peace talks may lead to an end to the decades-old conflict.
The influential head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, told Arab leaders over the weekend that the talks could work, while Palestinian leaders were clearly surprised by the progress made at the first meeting in Washington on Friday.
But Hamas warned again it would continue attacks against Israeli civilians, and Israeli jets bombed smuggling tunnels on the Gaza-Egypt border in retaliation for the drive-by killings last week of four Jewish settlers near the West Bank town of Hebron. Hamas claimed responsibility.
Other extremist leaders in the region, including Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah, predicted the talks would fail.
He said the talks were “born dead” and that the majority of Palestinians objected to them.
However, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas hit back at Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Mr Abbas’s spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, was quoted by the official PA news agency Wafa as saying Mr Ahmadinejad had engaged in forged elections last year and did not represent the Iranian people. “We did not repress our people as did Iran led by Ahmadinejad,” he said.
The Jerusalem Post reported that chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said agreement had been reached in Washington that the new talks would resume where they were abandoned two years ago. The paper also quoted Israel’s ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, as saying that Israel was attempting to find concessions in the event Israel ends the freeze on settlement growth on September 26. It said these could include greater Palestinian control of West Bank territory, removing extra checkpoints and the release of Palestinian security prisoners.
Palestinian negotiators have said they would walk away from talks if building resumes. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under pressure from settlers and two of the parties in his fragile coalition, Yisrael Beiteinu and Shas, not to renew the moratorium.
Mr Abbas told associates he would be prepared to have an international force deployed anywhere Israel demanded within the boundaries of a Palestinian state, including at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, Israel Radio reported.
Mr Abbas had had a positive sense Mr Netanyahu was serious about a peace agreement and the US might find “a creative solution” to the issue of the construction freeze, the report added.
In Washington, Mr Netanyahu and Mr Abbas agreed to meet every two weeks, starting next week in Egypt.
While many commentators in Israel had been sceptical that Mr Netanyahu wanted to be put in a position to sign a peace deal, given the opposition from elements of his own coalition, the picture has changed somewhat with the major opposition party, Kadima, signalling it would be prepared to join his government should it be required.
Another factor is that Israel wants full US support to confront Iran’s developing nuclear capacity and in Israel it is seen as likely that the US would be more supportive should Israel sign a peace deal, on which President Barack Obama has staked much of his foreign policy credentials.
Be the first to comment