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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| "Eminently possible" for Israeli occupation to end - Palestine PM |
| 2010-12-13 |
| (KUNA) -- Despite the collapse of Israeli-Paleostinian peace talks, Paleostinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Sunday said he believes it is "eminently possible" for the Israeli occupation of Paleostinian lands to end. Appearing on ABC's "This Week" alongside former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni, Fayyad said the occupations needs to come to an end. "The goals of the negotiations should be set high," he said. "There is no reason by now we should not see evidence of the occupation beginning to be rolled back." Asked about proposals for the unilateral declaration of a Paleostinian state, in which countries recognize Paleostine regardless of the peace talks, Fayyad said the Paleostinian Authority was "committed to statehood" as soon as possible by whatever means that can be achieved. Livni, the primary political challenger to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said she believed the Netanyahu government's refusal to extend a settlement freeze in the occupied West Bank "was the wrong answer." An Israeli-Paleostinian peace treaty is in the interest of Israel, she said, and many of the problems cited by Fayyad would be resolved via a "legal peace treaty." The Israeli government's refusal to extend a settlement freeze, which the United States had insisted upon when it relaunched the grinding of the peace processor last August, represents a fundamental violation of the grinding of the peace processor, Fayyad said. Asked about the latest US proposal, outlined by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill... on Friday, in which the parties would proceed directly to "core issues, " Fayyad said the Paleostinians "would definitely like to go into that." But he questioned the meaning of language used by Netanyahu and key members of his government. What does Netanyahu have in mind when he says "Paleostinian state,"? Fayyad asked. The Paleostinians' right of return is a core issue, as is the final status of Jerusalem, he said. "What is meant by an end to the occupation?" Fayyad asked. "There is too much loose language" being spoken by Israeli officials, he said. Livni said the creation of a Paleostinian state was the answer to "this sensitive problem of the Paleostinians" -- referring to the Paleostinians' right of return to lands occupied by Israel since its creation in 1948. The good news is that the parties will soon discuss their basic views on the core issues, and the primary one for Israel is its security, she said. "It is a matter of trust," Livni said. "The parties need to regain trust." Livni said it was possible the Israeli government would make key decisions in the next nine months, which is when the one-year deadline set by the B.O. regime to complete the talks will arrive. Asked about the idea of the United States offering "bridging proposals" to try to bring the parties to agreement, Livni said that depends on the substance of the proposals and whether they represent the interests of Israel. Some bridging proposals "maybe are going to be problematic," she said. Fayyad said he would welcome such bridging proposals, which he noted Clinton said would be attempted "if necessary." "I feel it will be necessary," he added. |
| Posted by:Fred |