Last-ditch effort

[ProgressiveMuslim]

Abbas looks to Bush to bring Israel to heel, marvels Khaled Amayreh in Ramallah

(snip)

Israel prefers to reach a "declaration of principles" that would lay out general guidelines for a final status solution with the Palestinians. But the PA is not interested in another vaguely-worded declaration (the Oslo Agreement was a declaration of principles) which would give Israel more time to "create facts" on the ground in the West Bank. "A declaration of principles would be meaningless in the absence of agreement on hardcore issues such as Jerusalem, the settlements and the refugees," said Abdullah Abdullah, a Fatah lawmaker and former director-general of the Palestinian Foreign Ministry. Abdullah said "another declaration of principles would be a waste of time because we already have one, the Oslo Accords. What we want and seek is a framework agreement covering all aspects of the conflict. We want to know for example when our prisoners will be freed from Israeli jails and detention camps."

The Palestinian leader will also complain to Bush about Israel's failure to implement key clauses of the Quartet-sponsored roadmap for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Under the roadmap plan, Israel is committed to removing hundreds of checkpoints and roadblocks in the West Bank as well as freeze Jewish settlement expansion.

Palestinians and peace-watch groups in the occupied territories accuse Israel of reneging on these pledges. They argue that Israel has kept the vast bulk of its physical barriers in the West Bank and that only a few roadblocks of secondary significance have been removed. Israel has also embarked on a fresh spate of settlement expansion in the West Bank, especially in East Jerusalem. The PA repeatedly complained to Washington in this regard, but the Bush administration has failed or refuses to exert pressure on the Israeli government to halt settlement expansion on occupied Arab land.

Israel and the PA have been holding intensive talks for more than a year, but without reaching a breakthrough, especially with regard to the final status issues. Abbas is under tremendous pressure from Palestinian public opinion to reach a dignified peace agreement or quit. "The Palestinian people can't continue to watch this game of make-believe for much longer. If Abbas thinks that a peace agreement with Israel is not possible, he should have the courage to tell the people the truth," said a Palestinian official. "The Palestinians are mentally exhausted by this peace process."


lots more...
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/894/re51.htm

[Vegasaurus]

1. Under the roadmap

the Palestinians are supposed to stop their violence and accept Israel.

See how well they have kept up their end of the bargain too.