RAMALLAH – US President Barack Obama said Thursday he was not giving up on stalled peace talks in the Mideast but that continued Israeli settlement-building in West Bank is not helping the cause.
Still, Obama suggested that Palestinians should not make it a condition to resuming peace negotiations with Israel. He says there’s no point to negotiations if the expectation is that everything must be figured out in advance.
[At least he didn’t say settlements were illegal or illegitimate]
“We do not consider continued settlement activity to be constructive, to be appropriate, to be something that can advance the cause of peace,” Obama said. But, he added, “the politics there are complex and I recognize that is not an issue that’s going to be solved immediately, it’s not going to be solved overnight.”
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, appearing alongside Obama at a news conference in Ramallah, West Bank, said Israel must stop illegal settlement building to advance peace talks.
“We are not claiming anything that is illegitimate or illegal,” Abbas said in Arabic. “Therefore, we require the Israeli government to stop settlements in order to discuss all our issues and their concerns.”
Obama said Palestinians deserve an independent and sovereign state and an end to occupation by Israel. He said the prospect of a contiguous Palestinian state alongside a Jewish state of Israel continues to exist if negotiations would restart.
“I absolutely believe that it is still possible, but I think it is very difficult,” Obama said. He also said it would be helpful if rockets weren’t still being launched into Israel.
Abbas said he told the American leader that peace with Israel should not be achieved through violence, occupation, settlements, arrests or denial of refugee rights. The remarks amounted to a list of grievances against Israel.
Obama was visiting the West Bank on his second day of a Mideast trip after spending a day in Jerusalem. He said he spoke of the settlements during meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Palestinians argue they cannot negotiate a border between Israel and a future Palestine while Israel unilaterally shapes that line through accelerated settlement building.
Abbas reiterated a desire for a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem – territories Israel captured in the 1967 war. Since 1967, Israel has built dozens of settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem that are now home to 560,000 Israelis – an increase of 60,000 since Obama became president.
Abbas condemns rocket fire
The meeting was held several hours after rocket fire from Gaza resumed, with one rocket hitting the backyard of a house in the southern Israeli city of Sderot. The Palestinian president’s political advisor, Nimar Hamed, said that Abbas condemned the rocket fire.
“We condemn violence against civilians, no matter where it originates,” Abbas was quoted as saying. “We are in favor of establishing mutual and comprehensive calm in the Gaza Strip, and therefore I supported the agreement Hamas and Israel reached through Egyptian mediation.”
Palestinian news agency covered a protest held during the Obama-Abbas meeting, in which hundreds of Palestinians expressed their anger over the visit. One of them hurled a shoe at Obama’s picture and urged him to “leave Palestine.” Another declared, “I want to return to my forefathers’ village,” referring to the right of return.
CuriousAmerican Said:
I am for a one state solution with Israel annexing all of Y&S with what you call enfranchisement.
Caroline Glick – Application of Israeli Sovereignty over Judea and Samaria
After that I would enforce totally all Laws of Israel strictly with our new Arab citizens.
Also I would reduce from that sector all benefits from the state like child allowances byplacing payments for children within the scope of the non govermental Jewish Agency. Jews will receive payment and Arabs and other minorities not. That is a Zionist solution to demography. Jewish money should go to Jews only.
I would invoke and carry out with maximum zealousness according to the Law; the following.
All structures of Arabs without a proper building permit will be both fined and the structures destroyed. Structures built without legal proofs of land ownership will be destroyed.
All legal Taxes will be collected by force of arms if necessary.
Arab municipalities not run according to law and standards required by the state will be run by a state appointed managers.
Arab youth will give 3 years of hard labor as their national service obligation and they will help build the country according to projects the government determines. Failure to comply in full will carry strict penalties of not less than 5 years in prison, a hundred thousand dollar fine but they will be offered expulsion with no waivers instead.
All violations of Israeli law will carry very stiff mandatory penalties and expulsion offered in each case except for major felonies.
Any act of violent civil disobedience against the state and her arms of enforcement and or active terror including rock throwing will carry a mandatory death penalty.
Rock throwing minors will be deported with their whole families and their homes destroyed with any legal ownership of property reverting to the state.
After being granted Israeli citizenship all Arabs may opt-out and decline which will be irrevocable. They will then not be subject to comply with obligations of citizenship but will still have the same obligations re-laws relating to: violence and civil disobedience, Building only with approval of state authorities and paying their rightful taxes. Penalties for violations of the law will be either automatic deportation for misdemeanors or prison and death sentences for major crimes.
There will be no family reunion options for non citizen Arabs. They want wives? they will have to move to where their wives are.
Every Arab citizen will have to swear and sign a Loyalty pledge.
Any display of symbols of identification with foreign enemies like a Pali flag or openly identification with the Hamas or any enemy entity will result in loss of Israeli citizenship. Freedom of speech stops with identification and support for the enemies of the Jews and the Jewish state.
All firearms will be confiscated and refusal will result in loss of citizenship and deportation if any Arab citizen or other is found to possess illegal weapons.
Laws will be made to cover any area not covered in existing laws or tweaked to comply with the above.
Even if only existing Law were strictly enforced many if not most of our Arab citizens would run for the hills.
Israel applies the concept of Affirmative Action, with our Arab minorities and as a result they have become a privileged class contrary to the public perception both in and out of Israel. My proposal would eliminate the benefits to them and in place institute the concept of full obligations and enforce those obligations without prejudice.
THEY WILL GO, especially the young and the most educated!!!
The Pals might be our cousins but this idea that Jews always have bend over to the oppressor is sick minded. NO OTHER PEOPLE WOULD DO OR TOLERATE THAT. We know they don’t want peace, we know what they want and somehow we have to keep showing that evidence to the rest of the world when they cry that Jews are so evil. What a bunch of crap! Putting the cart before the horse. The Pals can have their state – they can choose between marching to the Dead Sea or Jordan.
Yes it does. It gives the Arabs an excuse, valid or not.
Waving a flag in front of a bull provokes the bull. The Bull may be an irrational beast, but you
cannot claim the flag had no effect.
Glick is more reasonable when she calls for annexation and enfranchisement.
I am not in favor of a Palesitnian state.
A) Pay them to leave
-or-
B) Slowly start to enfranchise them
@ Bear Klein:
Mr. Bear, Obama knows that already ,he want to surround Israel with hostile ememies.
@ yamit82:
To the contrary, it is constructive and has nothing to do with the advancement of peace, it has to do with the advancement of our communities throughout our land, the Holy Land that belongs to us.
BTW the Pals (Hamas controlled) is really not interested in peace.
Because. . . . [uh — why, exactly?]
Just the bald assertion? — no supporting reasoning? as if the claim were self-evident?
Perhaps he should address such remarks to the PALIS
— since their OWN construction in the area far outstrips that of the Jews in Y/S.
Obama said: “We do not consider continued settlement activity to be constructive, to be appropriate, to be something that can advance the cause of peace”
HELLO!!!!! MR. PRESIDENT OBAMA Re: contiguous Palis State and Settlements:
Five Kassams Fired at Sderot Today; IDF Retaliates
The IDF has confirmed that two helicopter gunships fired several air-to-surface missiles late this afternoon after terrorists were spotted deploying Kassam rocket launchers in Khan Yunis. Two people are reported killed and over ten were wounded.
Glick answers Obama
Caroline Glick: The presence of Jews on the West Bank has nothing to do with ………..!!!!
I doubt that anything being said is of much value. I think it is all meant for a street that has been told they will return to the homes of the jews for decades. this cannot change overnight. It is likely that a stall with the appeaarnce of progress suits everybody, including hamas and PA. I think the main question will be how much, if anything, will Israel retain control of areas C and will a pa autonomy give permanent sovereignty or keep maintaining legal israeli sovereignty as it does now? security is a given that Israel will not concede except within the context of a confederation of pa and jordan. In any confed the key question will be whether the PA is sovereign over the land. The continuation of ambiguity is convenient for all players at this time.
Let’s suppose that Netanyahu and Abbas sat down and worked out a deal. Could somebody please tell me how you get Hamas to go along with it? If Israel signs an agreement with Abbas, and then Hamas refuses to accept it, Israel would be required to observe the deal, and when Hamas continues firing rockets at Israel, Abbas will just say that he can’t control it, right after, of course, he issues the required condemnation.
Tell Obama we left the Jewish Homes in Gaza and we now have over 13,000 rockets and counting landing in Israel. So moving out of the West Bank is idiotic and self destructive.
Getting barbarians and terrorists to do anything constructive is a complete waste of time.
That’s exactly why they don’t deserve a state.
Obama is engaged in a fool’s errand!