Palestijnen willen geen provisorische grenzen voor hun staat accepteren

 

Het lijkt er zowaar op dat beide partijen vanavond dan eindelijk samen in een ruimte verkeren, en de voorbereidende gesprekken (de echte onderhandelingen volgen daarna – of niet) zijn begonnen. Dat is een hele prestatie, niet in de laatste plaats voor minister Kerry. Daarbij is de vraag wat hij aan beide partijen heeft toegezegd om ze zover te krijgen. Met name de Palestijnen hadden een lijstje met voorwaarden, waarvan alleen het vrijlaten van alle gevangenen die sinds 1993 vastzitten geheel lijkt te worden ingewilligd. Het lijkt er echter op dat Kerry een aantal Palestijnse eisen informeel heeft toegezegd, zonder dat Israel die nu formeel hoeft in te willigen. Het is een slimme zet, maar roept wel de vraag op wat de Palestijnen bereid zijn aan te bieden en of Israel toch niet te snel een aantal zaken heeft toegegeven, al is het niet officieel. Hopelijk heeft Kerry ook de Palestijnen onder druk gezet om bepaalde zaken op te geven, want alleen dan maken de vredesbesprekingen enige kans van slagen.

According to Al-Hayat, Kerry promised PA President Mahmoud Abbas that Washington would oppose any Israeli attempt to avoid a final-status deal in favor of an interim arrangement. The senior Palestinian official was also quoted as saying that Ramallah would initially aim to come to agreement with Israel on the contours of a Palestinian state.

 

The US has promised the Palestinians that Israel would not carry out any “provocative” actions regarding settlements during the peace talks which are expected to resume in Washington this week.

 

The PA’s official daily newspaper Al-Ayyam also quoted Palestinian sources on Sunday as saying that the renewed talks would be based on the 1967 “borders” with agreed land swaps. The paper said that the Palestinian negotiating team would be headed by chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat and top Fatah official Mohammed Shtayyeh.

 

The PA will not engage Israel in peace negotiations if Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government does not release 104 Palestinian Arab prisoners who have been jailed for terrorist offenses, a senior Palestine Liberation Organization official told Israel Radio on Sunday.

Qadura Fares, a veteran Fatah leader who also serves as president of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, also said that the PA will not agree to banish any of the freed prisoners to either Gaza or a foreign country. 

 

RP

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Report: Palestinians claim Kerry vowed to reject Israeli bid for interim deal

http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Fatah-official-No-peace-talks-unless-Israel-frees-104-Palestinian-prisoners-321257

By JPOST.COM STAFF, KHALED ABU TOAMEH

LAST UPDATED: 07/28/2013 10:34 

 

Palestinians double down on borders, prisoners; official warns no talks without prisoner release.

 

The US has given the Palestinian Authority assurances that it will reject any Israeli proposals to establish a Palestinian state with provisional borders as part of an interim agreement, a senior Palestinian official was quoted on Sunday as telling the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat.

After US secretary of State John Kerry’s whirlwind round of shuttle diplomacy which lasted months, Israeli and Palestinian officials are due in Washington this week to kick off the latest round of peace negotiations.

According to Al-Hayat, Kerry promised PA President Mahmoud Abbas that Washington would oppose any Israeli attempt to avoid a final-status deal in favor of an interim arrangement. The senior Palestinian official was also quoted as saying that Ramallah would initially aim to come to agreement with Israel on the contours of a Palestinian state.

The US has promised the Palestinians that Israel would not carry out any “provocative” actions regarding settlements during the peace talks which are expected to resume in Washington this week.

The PA’s official daily newspaper Al-Ayyam also quoted Palestinian sources on Sunday as saying that the renewed talks would be based on the 1967 “borders” with agreed land swaps. The paper said that the Palestinian negotiating team would be headed by chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat and top Fatah official Mohammed Shtayyeh.

The PA will not engage Israel in peace negotiations if Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government does not release 104 Palestinian Arab prisoners who have been jailed for terrorist offenses, a senior Palestine Liberation Organization official told Israel Radio on Sunday.

Qadura Fares, a veteran Fatah leader who also serves as president of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, also said that the PA will not agree to banish any of the freed prisoners to either Gaza or a foreign country.

Fares told Israel Radio that PA President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to a release of the prisoners in four stages beginning in the second month into peace negotiations with Israel that are due to resume this week in Washington. None of the prisoners are likely to be released before Eid al-Fitr, the ceremonial feast that marks the end of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, Fares said.

Among the 104 prisoners that are likely to be released are 14 Palestinian citizens of Israel as well as six Palestinians residing in east Jerusalem. Twenty six prisoners are from Gaza and the rest originate from Judea and Samaria.

Kerry phoned Abbas on Friday and informed him of the Israeli government’s decision to release Palestinian prisoners.

Abbas’s spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudaineh, said that Kerry told the PA president that US President Barack Obama’s administration fully supports the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

During a meeting with Palestinian journalists in Ramallah, Abbas was quoted as saying that Palestinians should expect “good news” on Sunday regarding the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Abbas refused to elaborate, but told the journalists: “Follow the Israeli media on Sunday and you will hear good news on the prisoners.”

Abbas reiterated his commitment to a two-state solution and said the Palestinians were keen on the success of the peace process.