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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| PM, Abbas shy away from framework deal |
| 2007-10-04 |
| Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas understands that the time is not yet ripe for a final status agreement with Israel, the Prime Minister's Office said following a meeting between Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Wednesday afternoon. The Palestinians, Olmert's office said, know that they have a long road ahead before they are ready for such an agreement. However, the PMO expressed satisfaction with the meeting, at which the two leaders agreed to present a joint declaration of principles, rather than a framework agreement, at a US-sponsored peace parley in November. The compromise drew fire from both ends of the political spectrum. The Likud criticized the meeting, saying in a statement released early Wednesday evening that current government policy could lead to the establishment of a "second Hamastan" in the West Bank that could pose a missile threat to Gush Dan. No wording [of the agreement] can hide the fact that the Olmert government has promised the Palestinians to withdraw to the 1967 borders and divide Jerusalem, the statement said. Peace Now also expressed its dissatisfaction with the watered-down plan, saying that unless the issues at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were addressed at the November meeting, the parley would turn into a "useless media show." |
| Posted by:Fred |