Earlier today, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met in Jerusalem to work on the so-called “Declaration of Principles” for the international peace conference set for this Fall. Although Israeli sources are reporting that Olmert and Abbas discussed final status issues during the meeting, Voice of Palestine Radio is reporting that Abbas doesn’t feel the declaration of principles is sufficient.
From Ha’aretz, PM, Abbas discuss three major final status issues:
Abbas headed into the talks warning that the planned conference would be pointless if it failed to address the core issues of Palestinian statehood - borders, refugees and Jerusalem.
“If there is a clear framework including final status issues, we will welcome this and go to the conference,” Abbas told Voice of Palestine radio.
He pressed Israel to be more specific on how it plans to approach peace talks, saying Olmert’s proposed declaration of principles would not suffice.
The PA chairman had also expressed concern Monday that the summit would be a “waste of time” if it limited itself to a “declaration of principles.”
And more bluster from Hamas in the same story about how Fatah is trying to marginalize them:
Hamas called the Abbas-Olmert meeting another attempt to isolate it.
“The meeting will end in complete failure. Such meetings can never achieve anything as long as the Israeli occupation continues to deny the rights of our people and continues its aggression against them,” said Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas official.
The Jerusalem Post is reporting some specific details from the meeting, Israel offers control of Ramallah, Nablus and Jenin:
Among the proposals made by the Israeli team was an offer to share control of the Temple Mount between the three major religions (Judaism, Islam and Christianity) and to cede control of the Arab neighborhoods of east Jerusalem to the PA. The policing of major West Bank towns Ramallah, Jenin and Nablus would also be given to the Palestinians.
The proposals were presented in a document obtained by Channel 10. Notably, the document makes no mention of the issue of Palestinian refugees.
This comes on the heels of news that Fatah in the West Bank recently closed 103 Islamic charities allegedly linked to Hamas.
This is an interesting development. Israel sharing sovereignty over the Temple Mount and surrendering sovereignty over Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem would be a significant Israeli concession. I have long believed that the central compromise of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be partition of Jerusalem for a near-complete renunciation of the right of return.
For from from Ha’aretz about Fatah-Hamas tensions, PA to shut down 103 charities to weaken Hamas:
“The government decided to close down 103 charities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip because they have violated the law,” said Mahmoud al-Habbash, Minister of Social Affairs in a government appointed by Abbas after Hamas seized the Gaza Strip.
Habbash said the move did not target any single group. He told Reuters that some of the charities were being used as “cover-ups for activities that contravene the law”.
. . .
The bank accounts of al-Salah Association, one of the largest Islamic charities in the Gaza Strip, were frozen earlier this month by Palestinian banks after the U.S. government designated it a “key support node for Hamas”.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said the decision to close the charities is part of an attempt by the leadership of the Palestinian Authority to “uproot the Hamas movement” and that it would only cause hardship among Palestinians.
About 2,400 charities operate in the Palestinian territories, Habbash said.
Habbash did not say how many Hamas charities would be affected by the decision or how the ruling would be carried out in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas.
This is another indication that Fatah’s power is growing vis a vis Hamas. It is becoming clear that Hamas’ decision to take over in Gaza has had a very negative impact on their overall standing both among Palestinians and in the international community. The diplomatic dialogue between Abbas and Olmert can only widen the gap between Fatah and Hamas. I would not be the least bit surprised, as I said yesterday, if Hamas got desperate and started attacking inside Israel again.
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