Het heeft wat voeten in de aarde gehad, maar eindelijk heeft president Abbas dan ingestemd met indirecte onderhandelingen met Israel. Proficiat voor deze zeer vergaande en gedurfde concessie! Zijn stijfkoppige houding wijt hij overigens zelf aan Amerika. In een interview met Der Spiegel zegt hij:
SPIEGEL: Why are you standing in the way of talks by setting these preconditions?
Abbas: They aren't preconditions, but steps that are overdue after the first phase of the international roadmap for peace. Unlike Israel, we have met our obligations: We have recognized Israel's right to exist, and we are combating violent Palestinian groups. The Americans, the Europeans and even the Israelis have acknowledged this.
SPIEGEL: At least Netanyahu has ordered a 10-month freeze on settlements, something no other Israeli prime minister has done. Wouldn't it be your turn now to take a step in his direction?
Abbas: It isn't a real moratorium, because a few thousand housing units are still being built in the West Bank, and Jerusalem is completely exempted from the settlement freeze.
SPIEGEL: You negotiated with Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, even though settlement construction was continuing without restrictions at the time. Aren't you applying a double standard here?
Abbas: In a way, yes. But I have asked Olmert to freeze settlement construction every time we met. Besides, Barack Obama was elected president of the United States in the interim. In his speech to the Islamic world in Cairo, he called for a complete freeze on settlements. When the American president does this, I cannot accept anything less.
De druk van Amerika op Israel wat betreft de nederzettingen heeft dus een averechts effect gehad, want nu kan Abbas niet goed meer met minder thuis komen. Maar hij is natuurlijk niet zo onschuldig als hij zich voordoet. Hij gebruikt dit mechanisme heel slim, door steeds (via Amerika) allerlei eisen te stellen voordat er gepraat kan worden, zodat dat al binnen is, nog voordat met de onderhandelingen is begonnen. Met deze taktiek win je natuurlijk geen vertrouwen, en de toch al niet erg happige Israelische regering zal er niet toegeeflijker op worden. De algemene teneur daar is dat men genoeg concessies heeft gedaan en de Palestijnen nu aan zet zijn.
RP
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Following heavy international pressure, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to the U.S. proposal to hold talks with Israel - in the format of indirect negotiations conducted by U.S. special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell.
Senior Palestinian sources confirmed Sunday that Abbas has agreed in principle to the U.S. proposal for indirect talks. According to the same sources, Abbas intends to ask for a number of clarifications with the U.S. administration and will consult with Arab leaders prior to giving Washington his final response.
Abbas is inclined to respond positively to the American proposal, as a refusal would shed negative light on the Palestinian position.
Senior Israeli officials noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes the talks will begin in late February and will result in the resumption of direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The proposal relayed to Israel and the Palestinians during Mitchell's last visit to the region, about two weeks ago, involved the indirect negotiations beginning with American mediation. The format will be similar to the indirect talks Israel held with Syria in Turkey, with Mitchell relaying messages to the negotiating teams sitting in separate rooms.
Major step backward
The start of the indirect negotiations will mark the first time the Palestinians will hold political exchanges with Israel since Netanyahu became prime minister a year ago. However, it is a major step backward in terms of the contacts between Israel and the Palestinians, as it marks the first time in 16 years that talks held between the two will not be direct.
The talks will initially be held at low levels, in an effort to map out the two sides' positions and establish an agenda of topics to be discussed if the talks are upgraded into full-fledged political negotiations.
It remains unclear how exactly the indirect talks will be held and whether they will take place in Jerusalem or Washington. Heading the Palestinian team will be Saeb Erekat, who heads the Palestine Liberation Organization's negotiations team. On the Israeli side, Yitzhak Molcho will likely lead the team, along with Brigadier General Mike Herzog, adviser to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and possibly National Security Adviser Uzi Arad.
Abbas returned last week from a trip to Europe, where he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The two European leaders, who had coordinated their stance with Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres, relayed a clear message to Abbas: that they expected him to resume negotiations with Israel as soon as possible.
During a meeting with visiting Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos in Ramallah last week, Abbas said he would soon announce his agreement to the U.S. proposal to resume political talks with Israel, but added that these will only be indirect talks.
Senior sources in the Prime Minister's Bureau noted that Netanyahu had received similar messages from Europe and Washington, even if no official Palestinian response was forthcoming.
The prime minister stressed to the U.S. administration that the indirect talks be limited in terms of length of time, not exceeding two to three weeks.
"I want to reach direct talks with the Palestinians," Netanyahu said during his meeting with Moratinos last week. "I have no problem with proximity talks or indirect negotiations. I look at this as a ladder that will enable the Palestinians to climb down from the tree, and as a corridor that will lead to high-level talks."
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