US rejected Abbas's peace plan, PA says

[Jefferson23]

The plan, which envisages a full Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines within three years, was presented to US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday by Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat

The US Administration has rejected Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s new political initiative for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a PA official in Ramallah said Thursday.

The plan, which envisages a full Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines within three years, was presented to US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday by Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Abbas dispatched Erekat and General Intelligence Chief Majed Faraj to Washington to present the political initiative to Kerry and other US officials.

However, the official said Washington has rejected Abbas’s initiative, saying it was opposed to any unilateral move that could negatively impact the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/PA-says-US-rejected-Abbass-peace-plan-374491

[Scootaloo]

1. The strangelovian cast of this phrase...

However, the official said Washington has rejected Abbas’s initiative, saying it was opposed to any unilateral move that could negatively impact the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

A Palestinian peace offer would negatively impact the Palestinian-Israel peace process.

Clear show that the US is more invested in "process" than "peace."

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

2. Wait. There was a typo. They must have meant "piece process."

The USA just kills time while the Israelis kill Palestinians, carve up and consume what they can of the Palestinians lands.

[hack89]

4. It is the unilateral aspect of it that the US objects to

the offer is basically "if the Israelis don't give us what we want, the UN will force a solution." Hard to see much room for negotiation in his offer.

[Scootaloo]

5. There's nothing TO negotiate, is the thing

Israel is blatantly the one in violation here. It's occupying Palestine, and in the course of that occupation is seizing territory from Palestine, moving armed encampments of Israelis into the seized land, and utilizing them to exert further Israeli control over what scant resources the West Bank has.

It has no right to do any of this. It is totally in the wrong, with regards to the issue of territory. Negotiating with Israel on the issue, then means that the Palestinians are making sacrifices of territory and sovereignty, in order to legitimatize Israel' territorial crimes against them. That's a ridiculous proposition.

"Get out or I'll call the cops" is a perfectly valid response to a trespasser. That's the negotiation, either they can leave voluntarily, or they can deal with legal repercussions for their decision to stay. Palestine is under no obligation to grant a single territorial concession to Israel in exchange for Israel taking its territory.

[hack89]

6. The borders of Palestine have to be negotiated

you sound like there is universal agreement as to what Palestine is. I think it is the West Bank and Gaza. Some believe it is the 1948 borders. Hamas thinks it is all of Israel.

What do you think they should be?

[Scootaloo]

7. Abbas' plan calls for a withdrawal to the armistice line. Hamas' opinion is uninvolved.

Why not focus on what's actually going on, rather than gibbering about spurious hypotheticals?

[hack89]

8. So Hamas will sign on to any peace deal that comes out of this?

you really think that?

[Scootaloo]

9. What Hamas does or does not do is irrelevant to the issue.

Hamas' position on anything does not grant Israel rights to the west bank.

[hack89]

10. If Hamas keeps shooting rockets then it is highly relevant

Land for peace. That means all of Palestine, not half. Israel will expect something for giving up the West Bank and that it peace. They gave up Gaza and got rockets - they are not making that mistake again.

[Scootaloo]

11. No, it's really not.

It's relevant to a discussion of security. Not territory.

[hack89]

12. The two are linked. Land for peace

it has been that way for decades. Israel is not giving up land unless there is peace. Why can't the Palestinians make that simple promise? They want the same thing, don't they?

[BillZBubb]

3. Even Democrats who should know better are all in for Israeli ethnic cleansing.

By the time the US comes to its senses, the Israelis will have ghetto-ized the West Bank, like Gaza. The Palestinians there will be crowded into a small area of the worst land, while the Israeli settlements will steal all the good land.