Faced with a campaign of terrorism and intimidation, a number of Palestinians have decided to stay away from the signing ceremony of the Geneva Accord, set to be held in Switzerland on Monday.
| "I gotta watch out for my health, y'know?" |
Fatah officials Hatem Abdel Kader and Muhammad Hourani, who played a major role in the behind-the-scenes talks that resulted in the Geneva Accord, decided to boycott the ceremony.
| "We hafta wash our turbans that day." |
Abdel Kader told The Jerusalem Post he decided not to travel to Geneva after Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and the Fatah Central Council refused to endorse the agreement. "We don't want to be like [Jerusalem academic] Sari Nusseibeh, who is under attack because of his peace initiative with [former Shin Bet chief] Ami Ayalon," he said. "There is a state of confusion and crisis inside Fatah. Some Fatah leaders are exploiting the agreement to incite against us and organize street protests."
| Isn't that what usually happens, regardless of what's going on? Don't they ever get tired of inciting against people and organizing street protests? |
Abdel Kader said the main goal of the Geneva Accord is to create schism inside Israel and undermine the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
| Comes as a surprise, huh? |
"Our aim was to create divisions inside Israel and block the growth of the right-wing in Israel," he said. "But we didn't get the OK from Arafat, and this paved the way for street protests. We can't go without Arafat's consent." But PA Minister of State Kadoura Fares, one of the agreement's authors, said he received a green light from Arafat to travel to Geneva. He said Arafat told him during a meeting in Ramallah Sunday evening that he was not opposed to the participation of Palestinians in the ceremony.
| "Just make sure nothing comes of it." |
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