Tijdens de ontmoeting op 28 augustus tussen Abbas en Olmert is voor het eerst serieus over 'final status' onderwerpen gesproken, zoals grenzen, Jeruzalem en vluchtelingen. Ondanks optimistische bewoordingen zijn er volgens Palestijnse bronnen nog steeds wezenlijke verschillen in wat men van de onderhandelingen verwacht:
However Palestinian sources also said that while progress had been made, Olmert seemed interested only in a declaration of intent, while Abbas wanted to formulate a detailed document that would set out the Israeli position on the main issues.
The main development in the talks so far has been Olmert's acceding to the inclusion in the agreement of principles of the "core issues" - Jerusalem, permanent borders and refugees. This represents a reversal of his earlier position that raising these issues might lead to a breakdown in the negotiations.
However Palestinian sources also said that while progress had been made, Olmert seemed interested only in a declaration of intent, while Abbas wanted to formulate a detailed document that would set out the Israeli position on the main issues.
The main development in the talks so far has been Olmert's acceding to the inclusion in the agreement of principles of the "core issues" - Jerusalem, permanent borders and refugees. This represents a reversal of his earlier position that raising these issues might lead to a breakdown in the negotiations.
Ook Israëlische bronnen zijn voorzichtig:
The source [a senior government official, RP] also said that "implementation will be subordinate to the road map," meaning that Israel will insist on the disbanding of terrorist organizations at the outset and the establishment of a Palestinian state in stages, rather than a final-status arrangement in one move. Thus it seems Olmert is willing to be flexible on a declarative level, while leaving "safety valves" on the road leading from principles to action.
The official said Olmert would not offer Abbas any new gestures involving an easing of restrictions on the Palestinians. The security establishment has still not completed its plans for removing road blocks and obstacles in the West Bank, which Olmert had pledged to Abbas more than two months ago.
The official said Olmert would not offer Abbas any new gestures involving an easing of restrictions on the Palestinians. The security establishment has still not completed its plans for removing road blocks and obstacles in the West Bank, which Olmert had pledged to Abbas more than two months ago.
Aangezien beide partijen de Routekaart voor Vrede hebben gaccepteerd, is het niet raar dat Israël hieraan vast wil houden. De Routekaart, voor de duidelijkheid, gaat uit van verschillende fases en de creatie van een Palestijnse staat met tijdelijke grenzen voordat een permanente oplossing van het conflict overeengekomen wordt. Als Abbas het hier niet mee eens is moet hij vragen om aanpassing van de Routekaart.
Ratna
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PM, Abbas discuss three major final status issues
By Aluf Benn, Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents, and
News Agencies Last update - 19:03 28/08/2007
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/898071.html
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas held one-on-one talks Tuesday on the three issues that are at the heart of a final status agreement - borders for a Palestinian state, the division of Jerusalem and the right of return of Palestinian refugees to Israel.
It was the first time the two men discussed these matters in depth, according to an Israeli official. The two aim to bring an "agreement of principles" to an upcoming international summit on Middle East peace, set to take place in November.
These core issues have to be discussed on the way to finding a diplomatic solution of two states for two peoples, an official in the Prime Minister's Office quoted Olmert as saying. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the two leaders spoke privately.
David Baker, an official in the PMO, said ahead of the talks that they would center on "the development of Palestinian governing institutions, bolstering Abbas' government and issues concerning Israelis and Palestinians living side-by-side."
Olmert believes that the two leaders must meet at least once or twice more before handing over to aides who will hammer out the details of an agreement.
Aside from their face-to-face meeting, Olmert and Abbas were joined by their advisors to discuss security cooperation. Olmert thanked Abbas for the actions of the Palestinian security forces who rescued an Israel Defense Forces officer from an angry mob after he unintentionally strayed into Jenin on Monday.
Abbas headed into the talks warning that the planned conference would be pointless if it failed to address the core issues of Palestinian statehood - borders, refugees and Jerusalem.
"If there is a clear framework including final status issues, we will welcome this and go to the conference," Abbas told Voice of Palestine radio.
He pressed Israel to be more specific on how it plans to approach peace talks, saying Olmert's proposed declaration of principles would not suffice.
The PA chairman had also expressed concern Monday that the summit would be a "waste of time" if it limited itself to a "declaration of principles."
Hamas called the Abbas-Olmert meeting another attempt to isolate it.
"The meeting will end in complete failure. Such meetings can never achieve anything as long as the Israeli occupation continues to deny the rights of our people and continues its aggression against them," said Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas official.
Olmert and Abbas last met in the West Bank city of Jericho at the start of August, at which time the prime minister told Abbas that he would push for the establishment of a Palestinian state as "fast as possible."
Though it has been announced that the conference would be held in November, Abbas said he is still unsure about the timing, participants and agenda of the planned summit.
"There are no answers to these questions," he said after talking with United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice by telephone. "I spoke with Dr. Rice today and she has no answers either," he said.
Earlier Monday, a senior government official said the framework of discussions between Israel and the PA will be expanded to include the establishment of negotiating teams for each side, which will discuss the agreement of principles to be prepared ahead of the peace summit.
Meetings between Olmert and Abbas have so far been private, but the framework will now be expanded in order to "reach November with a logical product," the official said.
Olmert and Abbas are expected to meet again before the Rosh Hashanah holiday next month; sources in the Palestinian Authority said that in their next meeting, Olmert and Abbas will try to agree on as many issues as possible, in order to be able to present both their points of contention and agreement to Rice when she comes to the region in mid-September.
However Palestinian sources also said that while progress had been made, Olmert seemed interested only in a declaration of intent, while Abbas wanted to formulate a detailed document that would set out the Israeli position on the main issues.
The main development in the talks so far has been Olmert's acceding to the inclusion in the agreement of principles of the "core issues" - Jerusalem, permanent borders and refugees. This represents a reversal of his earlier position that raising these issues might lead to a breakdown in the negotiations.
The government official explained that Olmert has been persuaded to present the Palestinians with a political horizon, "so that Abbas will not lose the support of the Palestinian masses."
Referring to the appointment of Salam Fayad as Palestinian prime minister, the official said "two months ago a partner was born, and we must now talk to him about everything. We want to bring other countries into the process and reach more significant conclusions."
The source also said that "implementation will be subordinate to the road map," meaning that Israel will insist on the disbanding of terrorist organizations at the outset and the establishment of a Palestinian state in stages, rather than a final-status arrangement in one move. Thus it seems Olmert is willing to be flexible on a declarative level, while leaving "safety valves" on the road leading from principles to action.
The official said Olmert would not offer Abbas any new gestures involving an easing of restrictions on the Palestinians. The security establishment has still not completed its plans for removing road blocks and obstacles in the West Bank, which Olmert had pledged to Abbas more than two months ago.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak held a preliminary meeting last week and asked the army to present a detailed proposal that would include new operational roads. Barak is said to support temporary "flying roadblocks" in the West Bank that could replace permanent ones, thus easing passage for Palestinians while making it more difficult to carry out attacks. However he reportedly believes that moving to a new operational concept will require new deployment and training in the IDF, which will take time.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Fayad agreed at their meeting in Jerusalem Monday to strengthen civilian and economic ties between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. To this end, they resolved to establish committees for economics, social affairs and the environment. It was also suggested that meetings between mayors from each side be organized to promote joint projects.
The meeting between Livni and Fayad was their fourth since Fayad took office in June.
Livni told Fayad she appreciated the actions of the Palestinian security forces Monday, in assisting the Israeli officer who mistakenly entered Jenin.
Over the past few days, a special team has been set up in the Foreign Ministry to deal with preparations for the regional conference in November. The team will be headed by Foreign Minister Director General Aharon Abramovich, and a number of relevant department heads will also be included.
A senior government source noted that the team will prepare a number of position papers for Livni to submit to Olmert. The team will work mainly to prepare a plan of action to show the international community and the Arab world, in order to draft support for the regional conference and for subsequent talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
The team members are to prepare a list of steps Israel will take, and steps that Israel will ask the Arab world and the members of the Quartet to take. "The goal is to be ready with plans for the continuation of negotiations" following the summit, the official said.
Diplomatic activity is to be renewed next week with the end of the summer vacation. Assistant U.S. Secretary State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch is to come to the region ahead of Rice's planned visit. The Quartet's Middle East envoy, Tony Blair, is also expected to visit the region soon.
----------
PM, Abbas discuss three major final status issues
By Aluf Benn, Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents, and
News Agencies Last update - 19:03 28/08/2007
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/898071.html
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas held one-on-one talks Tuesday on the three issues that are at the heart of a final status agreement - borders for a Palestinian state, the division of Jerusalem and the right of return of Palestinian refugees to Israel.
It was the first time the two men discussed these matters in depth, according to an Israeli official. The two aim to bring an "agreement of principles" to an upcoming international summit on Middle East peace, set to take place in November.
These core issues have to be discussed on the way to finding a diplomatic solution of two states for two peoples, an official in the Prime Minister's Office quoted Olmert as saying. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the two leaders spoke privately.
David Baker, an official in the PMO, said ahead of the talks that they would center on "the development of Palestinian governing institutions, bolstering Abbas' government and issues concerning Israelis and Palestinians living side-by-side."
Olmert believes that the two leaders must meet at least once or twice more before handing over to aides who will hammer out the details of an agreement.
Aside from their face-to-face meeting, Olmert and Abbas were joined by their advisors to discuss security cooperation. Olmert thanked Abbas for the actions of the Palestinian security forces who rescued an Israel Defense Forces officer from an angry mob after he unintentionally strayed into Jenin on Monday.
Abbas headed into the talks warning that the planned conference would be pointless if it failed to address the core issues of Palestinian statehood - borders, refugees and Jerusalem.
"If there is a clear framework including final status issues, we will welcome this and go to the conference," Abbas told Voice of Palestine radio.
He pressed Israel to be more specific on how it plans to approach peace talks, saying Olmert's proposed declaration of principles would not suffice.
The PA chairman had also expressed concern Monday that the summit would be a "waste of time" if it limited itself to a "declaration of principles."
Hamas called the Abbas-Olmert meeting another attempt to isolate it.
"The meeting will end in complete failure. Such meetings can never achieve anything as long as the Israeli occupation continues to deny the rights of our people and continues its aggression against them," said Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas official.
Olmert and Abbas last met in the West Bank city of Jericho at the start of August, at which time the prime minister told Abbas that he would push for the establishment of a Palestinian state as "fast as possible."
Though it has been announced that the conference would be held in November, Abbas said he is still unsure about the timing, participants and agenda of the planned summit.
"There are no answers to these questions," he said after talking with United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice by telephone. "I spoke with Dr. Rice today and she has no answers either," he said.
Earlier Monday, a senior government official said the framework of discussions between Israel and the PA will be expanded to include the establishment of negotiating teams for each side, which will discuss the agreement of principles to be prepared ahead of the peace summit.
Meetings between Olmert and Abbas have so far been private, but the framework will now be expanded in order to "reach November with a logical product," the official said.
Olmert and Abbas are expected to meet again before the Rosh Hashanah holiday next month; sources in the Palestinian Authority said that in their next meeting, Olmert and Abbas will try to agree on as many issues as possible, in order to be able to present both their points of contention and agreement to Rice when she comes to the region in mid-September.
However Palestinian sources also said that while progress had been made, Olmert seemed interested only in a declaration of intent, while Abbas wanted to formulate a detailed document that would set out the Israeli position on the main issues.
The main development in the talks so far has been Olmert's acceding to the inclusion in the agreement of principles of the "core issues" - Jerusalem, permanent borders and refugees. This represents a reversal of his earlier position that raising these issues might lead to a breakdown in the negotiations.
The government official explained that Olmert has been persuaded to present the Palestinians with a political horizon, "so that Abbas will not lose the support of the Palestinian masses."
Referring to the appointment of Salam Fayad as Palestinian prime minister, the official said "two months ago a partner was born, and we must now talk to him about everything. We want to bring other countries into the process and reach more significant conclusions."
The source also said that "implementation will be subordinate to the road map," meaning that Israel will insist on the disbanding of terrorist organizations at the outset and the establishment of a Palestinian state in stages, rather than a final-status arrangement in one move. Thus it seems Olmert is willing to be flexible on a declarative level, while leaving "safety valves" on the road leading from principles to action.
The official said Olmert would not offer Abbas any new gestures involving an easing of restrictions on the Palestinians. The security establishment has still not completed its plans for removing road blocks and obstacles in the West Bank, which Olmert had pledged to Abbas more than two months ago.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak held a preliminary meeting last week and asked the army to present a detailed proposal that would include new operational roads. Barak is said to support temporary "flying roadblocks" in the West Bank that could replace permanent ones, thus easing passage for Palestinians while making it more difficult to carry out attacks. However he reportedly believes that moving to a new operational concept will require new deployment and training in the IDF, which will take time.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Fayad agreed at their meeting in Jerusalem Monday to strengthen civilian and economic ties between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. To this end, they resolved to establish committees for economics, social affairs and the environment. It was also suggested that meetings between mayors from each side be organized to promote joint projects.
The meeting between Livni and Fayad was their fourth since Fayad took office in June.
Livni told Fayad she appreciated the actions of the Palestinian security forces Monday, in assisting the Israeli officer who mistakenly entered Jenin.
Over the past few days, a special team has been set up in the Foreign Ministry to deal with preparations for the regional conference in November. The team will be headed by Foreign Minister Director General Aharon Abramovich, and a number of relevant department heads will also be included.
A senior government source noted that the team will prepare a number of position papers for Livni to submit to Olmert. The team will work mainly to prepare a plan of action to show the international community and the Arab world, in order to draft support for the regional conference and for subsequent talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
The team members are to prepare a list of steps Israel will take, and steps that Israel will ask the Arab world and the members of the Quartet to take. "The goal is to be ready with plans for the continuation of negotiations" following the summit, the official said.
Diplomatic activity is to be renewed next week with the end of the summer vacation. Assistant U.S. Secretary State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch is to come to the region ahead of Rice's planned visit. The Quartet's Middle East envoy, Tony Blair, is also expected to visit the region soon.
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