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PM: Water poisoning claims prove Abbas no peace partner

June 26, 2016

PM: Water poisoning claims prove Abbas no peace partner Netanyahu brushes off PA president’s ‘halfhearted half-apology’ for repeating debunked hoax story in EU parliament address

By Tamar Pileggi

June 26, 2016, 2:32 pm

Source: PM: Water poisoning claims prove Abbas no peace partner | The Times of Israel

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem on June 26, 2016. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)

Ahead of his trip to Rome for talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s recent address at the European Parliament again proved he was an unsuitable partner for pursuing peace.

Abbas last week told European lawmakers in Brussels that an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and East Jerusalem would end global terrorism, and repeated a debunked hoax story claiming that local rabbis had called for poisoning Palestinians’ water supply. Admitting the claim was “baseless,” Abbas on Saturday apologized and walked back the water poisoning allegation.

 “Abbas again last week proved to the entire world that he is not interested in direct negotiations with Israel,” the prime minister said at the start of his weekly cabinet meeting.

“Worse, he also spread abhorrent lies about the State of Israel and Judaism. True, he quickly apologized, a halfhearted half-apology, but the things he said there were in keeping with what he has said about us on other occasions, including at the UN General Assembly,” Netanyahu said. “Therefore, I think that people can conclude from this who wants to advance peace and a peace process – and who does not.”

A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday accused Abbas of peddling lies, promoting incitement and spreading blood libels in his speech.

President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas delivers a speech at the European Union Parliament in Brussels on June 23, 2016. (AFP / JOHN THYS)

President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas delivers a speech at the European Union Parliament in Brussels on June 23, 2016. (AFP / JOHN THYS)

“Israel waits for the day Abbas stops peddling lies and inciting [against Israel]. Until then, Israel will continue to defend itself against Palestinian incitement, which fuels terror,” the statement said.

Other senior Israeli politicians and US-based Jewish groups also issued sharp rebukes of the PA president over his remarks.

Following Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Netanyahu was set to leave for Rome to meet with Kerry, where, according to reports, the two men will discuss the possibility of reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the imminent publication of an international report expected to criticize Israeli settlement building.

Netanyahu will reportedly also make a last ditch effort to convince Kerry to soften an upcoming report that is expected to be critical of Israel.

The report by the Quartet diplomatic group — the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia — is concerned that Palestinian violence and Israel’s construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is pushing the prospect of peace further away.

Washington, the traditional mediator in Middle East peace efforts, has not taken the lead in recent months, concerned that the situation is not promising and that another round of failed talks would only further embitter both parties.

But France has launched a diplomatic initiative to build international pressure on both sides.

The United States gave the French move a cool reception, but Kerry attended its inaugural meeting in Paris and has called on both sides to take “affirmative steps” to calm tempers and preserve the possibility of peace.

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U.S., Europe Fund Torture by Palestinian Authority

February 26, 2016

U.S., Europe Fund Torture by Palestinian Authority

by Khaled Abu Toameh February 26, 2016 at 5:00 am

Source: U.S., Europe Fund Torture by Palestinian Authority

  • A report by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor documented 1,391 cases of Palestinians arbitrarily arrested by the two Palestinian parties, Fatah and Hamas, in 2015.
  • Systematic torture in Palestinian prisons in the West Bank and Gaza Strip was documented in the report — at least 179 cases of torture in Palestinian Authority (PA) prisons in 2015.
  • The PA security forces are trained and funded by several Western countries, including the US. This establishes a direct line between these Western donors and the arbitrary arrests, torture and human rights violations that have become the norm in PA-controlled prisons and detention centers.
  • The report also revealed that the Palestinian Authority regularly disobeys court orders by refusing to release detainees, showing contempt for its courts and judges.
  • Before our eyes, two police states are being built: one in the West Bank and a second in the Gaza Strip — in the face of talk by international parties of establishing an independent Palestinian state. But the last thing the Palestinians need is another police state.

Palestinians who incite violence against Israel are called Palestinian leaders. Palestinians who beg to differ with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas or one of his friends are called criminals and can expect to be interrogated and/or imprisoned.

The PA leadership has always clamped down on its critics, including journalists, editors, academics, human rights activists and parliament members. In this regard, the PA and its president show a distinct similarity to the other dictators that run the Arab world.

Like the legendary Japanese monkeys who see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil, the international media regularly turns a blind eye to blatant Palestinian Authority abuses. But here’s a newsflash for them: Say you don’t like Abbas and you face arrest or interrogation on charges of “insulting His Excellency.”

Take, for example, the case of Professor Abdul Sattar Qassem, who teaches Political Science at An-Najah University in Nablus.

Qassem, a long-time critic of President Abbas and the Oslo Accords, was arrested earlier this week by Palestinian security forces on charges of “incitement.” Qassem was arrested on the heels of a television interview in which he stated that those who collaborate with Israel should receive the death penalty, according to the PLO’s “Revolutionary Law.” The Palestinian leadership considered this statement “incitement” against President Abbas and Palestinian security personnel.

Professor Abdul Sattar Qassem (left) stated in a TV interview that those who collaborate with Israel should receive the death penalty. The Palestinian Authority leadership considered this “incitement” against President Mahmoud Abbas (right), and arrested Qassem.

Qassem was released on bail after three days in detention, although a Palestinian court had ordered him remanded in custody for 15 days. It is still unclear whether he will be officially charged and put on trial.

No stranger to Palestinian prison, Qassem has been arrested at least three times in the past few years for publicly criticizing President Abbas and other senior Palestinian officials. His outspokenness has also exposed him to violence: his car was torched while parked in front of his home in Nablus, and he escaped an assassination attempt when unidentified gunmen shot several rounds at him outside this home.

The culprits have never been caught. Palestinian sources say the assailants are unlikely to ever be apprehended. Had the perpetrators posted critical comments about President Abbas on Facebook, however, these sources say that they would have been locked up long ago.

A recent report published by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor documented 1,391 cases where Palestinians were arbitrarily arrested by the two Palestinian parties, Fatah and Hamas, in 2015.

The report noted that the bulk of the arrests (1,274) had taken place in the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Among those arrested were 35 Palestinian journalists and civil rights activists, and 476 students and academics.

Cameras and computers were confiscated from the detained journalists before they were interrogated about their work and activities on social media, the report said.

Now let us go to Gaza. How is Hamas doing on this score? Hamas authorities last year arrested “only” 23 journalists and civil rights workers, 24 university students and five teachers and academics.

Thus, the figures show, we might say, some arresting facts: Hamas has a better record than the Western-funded Palestinian Authority when it comes to assaults on public freedoms and human rights violations. The report also revealed that the Palestinian Authority regularly disobeys court orders by refusing to release detainees. In other words, the Palestinian Authority, which repeatedly boasts that it has managed to build an “independent and credible judiciary system” with the help of Western donors, shows contempt for its courts and judges.

Systematic torture — scores of cases — in Palestinian prisons in the West Bank and Gaza Strip was also documented in the report. In 2015, there were at least 179 cases of torture in Palestinian Authority prisons, as opposed to 39 cases in Hamas prisons during the same year.

The Palestinian Authority security forces are trained and funded by several Western countries, including the United States. This establishes a direct line between these Western donors and the arbitrary arrests, torture and human rights violations that have become the norm in Palestinian Authority-controlled prisons and detention centers.

Yet there is silence — until the word “Israel” pops up. Then Western news outlets, including those based in Israel that are tasked with covering Palestinian affairs, go into high gear.

This criminal indifference — one is tempted to say negligence — on the part of the international community permits and even promotes Palestinian Authority and Hamas human rights abuses.

We are witnessing how the two Palestinian parties approach the task of building state institutions. Before our eyes, two police states are being built — one in the West Bank and a second in the Gaza Strip. This is taking place in the face of talk by the same donors and other international parties (at least in relation to the PA) of establishing an independent Palestinian state. But the last thing the Palestinians need is another police state.

President Abbas, who has just entered the 11th year of his four-year term in office, has no cause to be concerned about the human rights violations committed by his security forces. In fact, he has every reason to continue clamping down on his critics. Why should he worry? The international community absolves him of the abuses perpetrated under his rule.

That is why this week Abbas instructed his security forces to launch an investigation into the behavior of a legislator, Dr. Najat Abu Baker. Dr. Abu Baker, it seems, had the temerity to demand an inquiry into the financial practices of a Palestinian cabinet minister.

Soon after she lodged charges of financial wrongdoing, Dr. Abu Baker, an elected member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, was summoned by the Palestinian prosecutor general for interrogation on charges of “slander” and “incitement.” This is quite a way to respect Dr. Abu Baker’s parliamentary immunity.

Dr. Abu Baker’s case is yet a further example of the disregard that the Palestinian Authority shows not only for the judicial system, but also for the legislative body that is meant to serve as a watchdog over the executive branch. But even watchdogs know their owners. By summoning Dr. Abu Baker for interrogation and threatening to arrest her, Abbas is sending a message of deterrence to his detractors, namely that even a member of parliament cannot escape the long arm of the Palestinian security forces.

For now, the international community has some choices. It could continue to close its eyes to the police states being erected with its monies. Alternatively, it could choose a new path: to hold the Palestinian Authority accountable for its actions, including the torture that takes place within its very core. But the West had better hurry up. The PA repression is far from lost on the Palestinians, who are being driven by it into the waiting arms of Hamas and other such groups.

Proper state institutions for the Palestinians is a laudatory goal; what the Palestinians have today are two banana republics.

Khaled Abu Toameh, an award winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.

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Abbas condemns ‘irresponsible’ torching of Joseph’s Tomb

October 16, 2015

Abbas condemns ‘irresponsible’ torching of Joseph’s Tomb PA president calls to set up committee to probe arson attack by Palestinian rioters at shrine believed to contain remains of biblical patriarch

By Times of Israel staff October 16, 2015, 12:55 pm

Source: Abbas condemns ‘irresponsible’ torching of Joseph’s Tomb | The Times of Israel

Mahmoud Abbas speaks with journalists at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah on October 6, 2015. (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)

Mahmoud Abbas speaks with journalists at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah on October 6, 2015. (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned on Friday the torching of the compound housing Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus overnight Thursday-Friday by Palestinian rioters throwing Molotov cocktails.

In a statement published on the Wafa news agency, Abbas called the act “irresponsible”and said a committee was being formed to investigate.

The PA president “decided to immediately form an investigative commission to probe this irresponsible act committed this morning, and [to] repair the damage to the site caused by these deplorable actions,” according to AFP.

The site sustained some damage early Friday morning, after some 100 Palestinians attacked the shrine.

Screenshot from the fire started by Palestinian rioters at Joseph's Tomb in Nablus, in the West Bank, on October 16, 2015.

Palestinian Authority security forces dispersed the crowd and managed to douse the fire at the tomb, believed to contain the remains of the biblical patriarch Joseph. Israel Defense Forces troops arrived at the scene once the confrontation was over and the fire was out, Channel 2 reported.

There were no reports of injuries in the incident.

According to Channel 10, Palestinian officials reportedly told their Israeli counterparts — in a phone conversation this morning — that the Palestinians will repair the damage caused to the shrine.

The Israel Defense Forces has also announced that it will make the necessary repairs in order to allow worshipers to continue visiting the holy site.

Israel on Friday morning slammed the attack, with Foreign Ministry Director General Dore Gold charging that the incident showed that only Israeli could protect religious sites.

“Only Israel can protect the holy places of all religions in Jerusalem,” Gold said in a statement, adding that “the Palestinian attack on Joseph’s Tomb recalls the actions of extremist Muslim groups from Afghanistan to Libya.

“Israel condemns in no uncertain terms the harm to Joseph’s Tomb committed for the sole reason that it is a place where Jews pray. The torching of Joseph’s Tomb clearly demonstrates what would happen to the holy places in Jerusalem if they were placed in the hands of the Palestinian leadership,” he said.

Earlier, a right-wing minister and the head of a settlement council group called for Israel to retake control of the shrine.

The incident came after several weeks of deadly unrest including a wave of near-daily terror attacks that have claimed the lives of eight Israelis since the beginning of this month. In addition, several dozen Israelis have been wounded in the attacks.

Screen Shot 2015-10-16 at 12.57.32 AM

josephs tomb

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PLO issues revised English version of Abbas’ ‘execution’ speech

October 15, 2015

PLO issues revised English version of Abbas’ ‘execution’ speech

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH \

10/15/2015 15:11

Source: PLO issues revised English version of Abbas’ ‘execution’ speech – Arab-Israeli Conflict – Jerusalem Post

The modified English version was released by the PLO’s Negotiations Affairs Department, which said this was a “full translation” of Abbas’ speech.

http://bcove.me/xwxqsq0w

http://MyPlayer.swf

The Palestine Liberation Organization on Thursday released a different version of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ speech, which was broadcast on Palestine TV on Wednesday night.

The new English version quotes Abbas as talking about the “shooting of our children in cold blood as they did with the child Ahmed Manasrah and other children from Jerusalem.”

The modified English version was released by the PLO’s Negotiations Affairs Department, which said this was a “full translation” of Abbas’s speech.

http://bcove.me/jymcr02u

However, the Arabic version of Abbas’s speech does not talk about “shooting.” Instead, Abbas is quoted as talking about the “execution of our children in cold blood, as they did with the boy Ahmed Manasrah and other children in Jerusalem and other places.”

PLO officials did not offer any explanation as to why they chose to change Abbas’s statement about Manasrah.

The English “translation” was published in response to accusations made by Israel against Abbas following his speech.

Israel accused Abbas of lying and incitement, especially with regards to his claim that Manasra, who took part in the stabbing attack at Pisgat Ze’ev in Jerusalem last Monday, had been “executed.”

A senior PA official in Ramallah accused the Israeli government of incitement against Abbas.

A statement released by Abbas’s office did not refer to the case of Manasrah. However, the statement called for an “end to Israeli incitement” – a reference to Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked’s call for closing Palestine TV.

“We call on the Israeli government to work towards ending all what aggravates violence and incitement,” the statement said.

Mahmoud Khalifa, PA Deputy Minister of Information, accused the Israeli media of serving as a mouthpiece for the Israeli government’s propaganda machine. He claimed that Israeli journalists were “reserve soldiers” in the IDF who were promoting their government’s version regarding “field executions” of Palestinians.

 

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Abbas Shuts the Door to Negotiations with Israel

December 7, 2014

Abbas Shuts the Door to Negotiations with Israel

Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi,

December 4, 2014

via Abbas Shuts the Door to Negotiations with Israel.

 

Institute for Contemporary Affairs
Founded jointly with the Wechsler Family Foundation

Vol. 14, No. 39       December 4, 2014

  • On Nov. 29, the Arab League approved a political action plan by PA President Mahmoud Abbas aimed at imposing the establishment of a Palestinian state without any political compromise on the Palestinians’ part. Jordan, currently the only Arab member of the UN Security Council, will submit a resolution to the Council along the lines of Abbas’ plan in the coming days.
  • The plan involves internationalizing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by having the Security Council fix a date for the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines with east Jerusalem as its capital.
  • Abbas, who claimed there was no longer an Israeli partner for a political settlement, said his plan includes having the “state of Palestine” join international conventions and organizations, particularly the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and requesting the UN to provide protection to the Palestinian people.
  • Abbas’ political plan shuts the door to any possibility of reaching a political settlement through negotiations with Israel. The conditions he has presented for resuming negotiations impose terms on Israel with no reciprocity from the Palestinians in the context of a political compromise.
  • Abbas is trying to exert pressure on the U.S., the international community, and Israel simultaneously. Abbas hopes to goad the international community into forcing Israel to recognize a sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines without a peace agreement being signed.
  • The Palestinian Authority is determined, even at the price of a run-in with the U.S. and Israel, to advance a unilateral political process that is aimed against Israel. The rioting and terror in Jerusalem and the West Bank, which are being encouraged by the Palestinian Authority, serve as a form of pressure on Israel and are also aimed at spurring the international community’s intervention.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas - The Palestinian Authority Presses Its Unilateral Process against Israel

On November 29, 2014, the Arab Peace Initiative Committee of the Arab League Council approved a political-action plan submitted by Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), “president of the state of Palestine,” which aims to “bring an end to the Israeli occupation of lands of the state of Palestine.”1 An announcement published at the end of the meeting held in Cairo said the issue had been transferred to the Arab League Council appropriate action.2  A diplomatic official told the Al Arabiya network that Jordan, currently the only Arab member of the UN Security Council, will submit in the coming days a proposal for a resolution along the lines of Abbas’ plan.3

The political plan Abbas presented was detailed in a speech he gave to the Arab League Council.4 The plan involves internationalizing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by submitting a proposal for a resolution to the Security Council, whereby the Security Council would fix a date for the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines with east Jerusalem as its capital.

In his speech Abbas, who claimed there was no longer an Israeli partner for a political settlement, set forth the other components of his plan. They include: the “state of Palestine” joining international conventions and organizations, particularly the International Criminal Court in The Hague and a conference of states parties to the Geneva conventions, where one of the resolutions would be to declare the conventions applicable to the state of Palestine;” requesting the United Nations to provide protection to the Palestinian people; and a diplomatic effort to convince additional states to recognize the “state of Palestine.”

Abbas’ political plan shuts the door to any possibility of reaching a political settlement through negotiations with Israel. Whereas Abbas conveys to the world at large that he remains committed to the path of negotiations, the conditions he has presented for resuming them entail imposing terms on Israel with no reciprocity from the Palestinians in the context of a political compromise.

Abbas says Palestinian conditions for renewing the talks include: ending construction in the settlements, freeing the fourth group of Palestinian prisoners (terrorists who are Israeli citizens and are serving prison sentences), withdrawing IDF forces from parts of Area A in the West Bank that are supposed to be under the Palestinian Authority’s full security control, and Israeli agreement to negotiate with the Palestinians on making the 1967 lines the border between the state of Israel and the state of Palestine.

Abbas’ Pressure Tactics Include Violence

Abbas is trying to exert pressure on the United States, the international community, and Israel simultaneously. He told the Arab League Council that he sees no need to wait for the results of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s attempt to bridge the Israeli and Palestinian positions, and that, if the United States vetoes the resolution in the Security Council, he would then reassess relations with Israel, end security cooperation with it (which is aimed at preventing terror), and transfer control of the “state of Palestine” to Israel, which he called “the occupying state.” By means of that scenario – which could foster political and security chaos leading to an Israeli-Palestinian confrontation (a third intifada) that would have a regional and international impact – Abbas hopes to goad the international community into forcing Israel to fulfill the Palestinian condition of recognizing a sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines, without a peace agreement being signed.

Thus the Palestinian Authority is determined, even at the price of a run-in with the United States and Israel, to advance a unilateral political process that is aimed against Israel and has the full support of the Arab League. The rioting and terror in Jerusalem and the West Bank, which are being encouraged by the Palestinian Authority, serve this political process as a form of pressure on Israel and also are aimed at spurring the international community’s intervention. Abbas not only has not condemned the wave of Palestinian anti-Israeli terror but, in traditional fashion, his speeches have reiterated the formula of “praise to the pure martyrs, freedom to the heroic prisoners, and rapid recovery to the heroic wounded.” What this adds up to is backing for every Palestinian who takes part in the struggle against Israel, including terrorist murderers.

The unilateral Palestinian political process marks the launching of an all-out political campaign against Israel accompanied by terror that could develop into an armed intifada. In relation to the international community Abbas has a supreme interest in maintaining the tenuous unity agreement with Hamas, since it indicates that the Palestinian Authority exercises rule (actually only apparent) over Gaza as well. Hamas, the real and unquestioned ruler of Gaza, is extending a rope to Abbas because it sees him as a means, in the international sphere, of attaining the “liberation” of the West Bank, which Hamas wants to take over in a similar way that it drove Fatah from Gaza in the summer of 2007. Hence, for the time being, Hamas is not likely to initiate hostilities with Israel from Gaza, and most of the terror effort will be directed at the West Bank and, from it, at Israel, while continuing to rehabilitate and build up terror infrastructures and military capabilities in Gaza.

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Abbas’ Fatah Party Calls for ‘Day of Rage’ on Friday

October 30, 2014

Remember, Friday is the Muslim “day of rest.”

By: Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu

Published: October 30th, 2014

via The Jewish Press » » Abbas’ Fatah Party Calls for ‘Day of Rage’ on Friday.

 

Abbas' Fatah party praises the terrorist who attempted to murder Rabbi Yehuda Glick.
Abbas’ Fatah party praises the terrorist who attempted to murder Rabbi Yehuda Glick.
Photo Credit: PMW 

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah organization has declared Friday a “day of rage” and called on the Palestinian “fighters” to “defend” the Al-Aqsa mosque, the Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) reported Thursday, quoted the Arabic-language site of the PA’s official WAFA news agency.

WAFA’s English site did not report the direct incitement for more violence.

“Fatah calls to its fighters and to the masses of the Palestinian people to aid the Al-Aqsa Mosque and occupied Jerusalem,” WAFA stated.

PMW also said that Fatah declared Friday as a “day of rage… to express the Palestinian people’s opposition to any attack on the holy places and foremost among them the Al-Aqsa Mosque… And to consider desecration of Al-Aqsa as a declaration of a religious war against the Palestinian people and the Arab Islamic nations.”

“Desecration” includes Jews ascending the Temple Mount.

Fatah also told Arabs of “celebrations” over the attempted murder of Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick Wednesday night.

The party headed by Abbas called Rabbi Glick “despicable” and labeled the terrorist who shot him a “heroic Martyr,” PMW reported.

One poster uploaded by Fatah’s Jerusalem branch carried the phrasing, “Fatah’s Jerusalem branch accompanies its heroic Martyr to his wedding, Mutaz Ibrahim Khalil Hijazi, who carried out the assassination attempt of Zionist rabbi Yehuda Glick.”

The same Fatah adviser who posed the incitement is the same person who earlier this month lauded the terrorists who killed a three-month-old American-Israeli baby.”

Abbas insisted on Wednesday that he is not calling for or urging violence, but PMW noted that Palestinian Authority television aired 25 times in the past two weeks “a clip of Abbas calling to ‘use all ways’ to prevent Jews from approaching the Temple Mount.’”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry still maintains that Abbas has renounced violence.

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US condemns Abbas’s UN speech as ‘provocative’

September 27, 2014

US condemns Abbas’s UN speech as ‘provocative’

Netanyahu aides also denounce allegations by PA leader, term statements as ‘speech of incitement filled with lies’, after Abbas called recent bout of fighting in Gaza ‘a series of absolute war crimes’.

Ynetnews Published: 09.27.14, 12:14 / Israel News

via US condemns Abbas’s UN speech as ‘provocative’ – Israel News, Ynetnews.

 

 

The United States on Friday condemned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s speech at the United Nations, in which he accused Israel of planning another “Nakba” and committing acts of genocide in Gaza during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge.

“President Abbas’ speech today included offensive characterizations that were deeply disappointing and which we reject,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. “Such provocative statements are counterproductive and undermine efforts to create a positive atmosphere and restore trust between the parties.”

Senior officials in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denounced the allegations as “a speech of incitement filled with lies.”

In the speech, Abbas called the previous round of fighting against Gaza “a series of absolute war crimes carried out before the eyes and ears of the entire world, moment by moment.” The devastation unleashed, he asserted, “is unmatched in modern times.”

He further stated that “the Israeli government undermined chances for peace throughout the months of negotiations,” referring to the failed 9-month-long peace process undertaken before the latest violence in Gaza. “Israel has consistently sought to fragment our land and our unity.”

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman also commented on Abbas’ speech Friday saying that, “Abu Mazen’s (Abbas’) words at the UN General Assembly sharply clarify again that Abu Mazen doesn’t want and can’t be a logical partner for a political settlement. Abbas isn’t a member of joint government with Hamas for no reason.”

The Foreign Minister said that “Abbas complements Hamas in his political terrorism and storytelling against Israel. So long as he’s chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Abbas will lead to the continuation of the conflict. He has proved time and again that he is not a man of peace, but rather Arafat’s heir.”

In the same speech, Abbas did not offer his own deadline for an Israeli withdrawal, as some had predicted, nor did he say anything about joining the International Criminal Court as his aides have repeatedly said he is prepared to do.

And while he signaled he would seek accountability for alleged war crimes by Israel against Palestinians during this summer’s 50-day war in Gaza, he made no mention of taking the case to the International Criminal Court.

“We will not forget and we will not forgive, and we will not allow war criminals to escape punishment,” Abbas said in his 30-minute address.

The devastating war has weakened Abbas domestically, with his Hamas rivals enjoying a surge of popularity among Palestinians for fighting Israel.

He is under pressure at home to come up with a new political strategy after his repeated but failed attempts to establish a Palestinian state through US-mediated negotiations with Israel.

Before Friday’s speech, his aides had said he would launch a new bid for a UN Security Council resolution to set a three-year timetable for Israel to pull out of Palestinian lands captured in the 1967 war. They added that a UN rejection of the Palestinian request would prompt Abbas to seek membership in international agencies, including the International Criminal Court.

That would open the door to war crimes charges against Israel for its military actions in Gaza and Jewish settlement construction on West Bank land the Palestinians want for a future state.

 

 

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Israel News – Abbas at the UN: “Israel is Planning a New Nakba”

September 27, 2014

Abbas at the UN: “Israel is Planning a New Nakba”

The political leadership reacted in rage to the harsh speech of the Chair of the Palestinian Authority, who accused Israel of genocide, on the stage of the UN General Assembly. “This is not the way a man of peace talks”, claimed the Prime Minister’s office. Foreign Minister Liberman: “Abbas is leading to the conflict continuing”

Sep 27, 2014, 09:22AM | Ayelet Izraeli

via Israel News – Abbas at the UN: “Israel is Planning a New Nakba” – JerusalemOnline.

 

n light of the renewed cooperation between Hamas and Fatah, which was announced two days ago in Cairo, Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, gave a harsh speech at the UN General Assembly yesterday (Friday), during which he accused Israel of war crimes during operation “Protective Edge”. According to him, “Israel is preparing for a new Nakba and the world must stop it”. The Israeli representative was absent during the speech.

Abbas began his speech with strong criticism of the deaths of Palestinian citizens during the operation in Gaza. “We will not forget and we will not forgive, and we will not allow war criminals to escape punishment”, emphasized the Palestinian President. “The Palestinian people hold steadfast to their legitimate right to defend themselves against the Israeli war machine and to their legitimate right to resist this colonial, racist Israeli occupation”.

Abbas, who very well understands the effectiveness of boycotts against Israel, supported those defending it. “Amidst a torrent of massacres and storms of massive destruction, we witnessed the peoples of the world gathering in huge demonstrations declaring their condemnation of Israel’s aggression”, said Abbas. “There was also an increase in boycotts meant to bring peace”.

 

The empty seat, Israel. Photo: AP / Channel 2 News
 

From the battles in Gaza, Abbas moved on to the diplomatic standstill, pointing a blaming finger towards Israel, claiming it is undermining the chance for peace. “Settlement construction, home demolitions, killing and forced displacement in the West Bank continued unabated, as well as the unjust blockade on the Gaza Strip”, he attacked.

According to him, “Israel reached an agreement with the Americans regarding the release of a group of Palestinian prisoners in the occupation’s jails – while we continue to insist on releasing all of them. Israel did not hesitate to reveal its true positions, it rejects the Palestinian state and refuses to find a just solution to the plight of the Palestine refugees”.

“Israel offers us isolated ghettos, without borders and without sovereignty, which will be under the subjugation of the racist settlers and army of occupation. At worst, Israel proposes Apartheid”, Abbas added and later claimed that “it reminds me of other scenes from history”.

Abbas also demanded that Israel and the international community set a deadline for any future solution. “There is no meaning nor benefit in negotiations not aimed to end the Israeli occupation and form a Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, over the entire territory occupied in 1967. There is no value in negotiations without a specific time frame for the implementation of these objectives”.

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Abu Mazen: “Set a Deadline for Israel to Withdraw from the West Bank”

August 25, 2014

Abu Mazen: “Set a Deadline for Israel to Withdraw from the West Bank”

Abu Mazen’s political program was revealed. In an interview provided to the Associated Press, Abu Mazen stated that he intends to contact political leaders in the west and the UN Security Council to compel Israel to give up the West Bank.

Aug 25, 2014, 03:00PM | Rivka Salomon

via Israel News – Abu Mazen: “Set a Deadline for Israel to Withdraw from the West Bank” – JerusalemOnline.

 

Abu Mazen at the UN Photo Credit: AP He can not find his hart.
 

Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen claimed that he has a surprising solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and now, the AP released their first details about it. According to sources close to him, he intends to appeal to the international community to place a deadline on Israel to withdraw to the 1967 Armistice Lines so that an independent Palestinian state can be established in the area.

Abu Mazen’s aid claimed that he intends to present the program shortly after the fighting during Operation Protective Edge ends. Abu Mazen is expected to officially present the program in a meeting with various leaders next Tuesday. The senior level officials refused to reveal the names in the framework of the interview with AP.

According to one of them, Abu Mazen “lost all illusions after over two decades of efforts to reach peace via negotiations that failed.” The Palestinian Authority Chairman is interested, according to the reports, in a prearranged date for Israel to leave the settlements in the West Bank. “This should occur through a mechanism that will compel Israel to end the occupation,” he stated.

In the background of the continued fighting in Gaza, which has claimed over 2,000 Palestinian lives, Abu Mazen started to look for other ways to get recognized by the international community, one that will allow him to make unilateral steps. In an interview he provided to Egyptian television over the weekend, he intends to present his political program to American and European leaders. According to his assistant, the program will include a UN Security Council resolution that will compel Israel to cease its control over the Palestinian Authority territory.

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Abbas to ask to UN to set deadline for Israel withdrawal to 1967 borders

August 24, 2014

Abbas ( abu mazen ) to ask to UN to set deadline for Israel withdrawal to 1967 borders If UN Security Council doesn’t approve Abbas’ appeal, Palestinians will pursue war crimes charges against Israel at the ICC, Abbas’ aides say.

Associated Pres Published:08.24.14, 22:17 / Israel News

via Abbas to ask to UN to set deadline for Israel withdrawal to 1967 borders – Israel News, Ynetnews.

 

RAMALLAH – Aides to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday he is preparing a new appeal to the international community to order Israel to end its occupation of lands captured in the 1967 Six Days War.

The officials said Abbas’ appeal is part of a “day after” plan following the end of the current war in the Gaza Strip.

Abbas will ask the UN Security Council to set a deadline for Israel to withdraw from lands captured in 1967 to make way for a Palestinian state. If the council does not approve a resolution, the aides said the Palestinians will then pursue war crimes charges against Israel in the International Criminal Court.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan has not been officially unveiled.

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