Palestinians Warn against Israeli Attempts to 'Derail' Talks
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki lobbied Friday for international help to protect the new round of peace talks with Israel in the face of what he said were Israeli attempts to 'derail' the negotiations.
"Our concern here is really how we could preserve, protect the process from being derailed by Israel and what kind of mechanisms are needed by the international community in order to protect that process," Maliki said after talks in Sofia with his Bulgarian counterpart Kristian Vigenin.
He said he hoped the international community, including the European Union, could help to ensure the talks were "continuous, serious and results-oriented".
Maliki said he counted on EU member Bulgaria -- a country with close ties to both Israel and the Palestinian Authority -- to convey his message to the European Union.
Israelis and Palestinians began a new round of direct peace talks on Wednesday in Jerusalem after a nearly three-year break.
The negotiations were however overshadowed by Israel's announcement of plans to build 2,000 new settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem and elsewhere in the West Bank, infuriating Palestinian officials.
"If you want to go with good faith into the resumption of talks... you do not go and announce publicly that you insist on building further illegal settlement units in the Palestinian occupied territories," Maliki said.
The Palestinians were expecting Israel would do things "in order to undermine the process" but that they themselves were fully committed to the talks.
almost 11 years
phillipo, 2000 new settlements in annexed Palestine is not pre-blame. The Palestinians are simply warning the international community of Israel's continued aggression. Is it so important not to suspend settlements?
The Palestinian request is fair:
""Our concern here is really how we could preserve, protect the process from being derailed by Israel and what kind of mechanisms are needed by the international community in order to protect that process," Maliki said after talks in Sofia with his Bulgarian counterpart Kristian Vigenin."
Israel should be pressured to actually take the talks seriously and not take as a guise to continue settlements, only to stop later, and build even more in the ensuing stalemate. The international community should indeed follow these talks and Israel's actions as intent.
almost 11 years
If you take the total area of the west bank 5,640 km2, and divide that by the 2000 new settlements you claim have been built, then each settlement has an area of less than 3sq kms assuming, incorrectly that they cover the whole of the west bank.
Then what area do Jenin, Kalkilya, Tulkarem, Ramallah, East Jerusalem, Nablus, Jericho, Bethlehem and Hebron cover.
So after we take all that into account, your claim of 2000 new settlements is just nonsense.
Israel has been trying to take the talks seriously from the very beginning, but it has always been the Palestinians who have broken them off time after time after time. Remember Arafat at Camp David?
Israel was willing to give up 98% of the territory and he refused.
He, and now Abu Mazen, don't want peace with Israel, they want pieces of Israel.
So once again they are trying to get world opinion on their side for the day when (not if) they decide to walk out of the peace talks.
What better action than to pre-blame the other side.