MP Moussa: Clinton's statements bear out lack of seriousness to bring peace

[ 04/03/2009 - 05:10 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

MP Yahya Moussa said Wednesday that the recent statements of US secretary of state Hillary Clinton about the White House's understanding of Israel's need to bomb the Gaza Strip in response to the rocket attacks are clear evidence that the US is not serious about restoring peace to the Middle East and that it is still biased in favor of the oppressor against the victim.

In a press release received by the PIC, MP Moussa, a member of the Hamas parliamentary bloc, underlined that the US is not qualified to oversee the peace process in the region  because it puts itself on the side of the criminal and supports him politically and financially.

The lawmaker expressed his disappointment over these statements which entirely contradict with the slogans of US president Barack Obama about his commitment to achieving peace and improving damaged relations with Arabs and Muslims.

He added that Clinton's remarks showed the "true face" of the new US administration and its "poor performance" which are similar to the approach of the previous administration.

Mousa underscored that the US had never been a real active party to achieve peace in the Middle East and would remain in the same path which leads to more hostility and hatred in the Arab and Muslim world towards it.

The MP highlighted that the US adamant policy carries a message to the Arab and Islamic Ummah (Nation) that the usurped rights cannot be restored through "begging and groveling", but rather through resistance and adherence to positions.

Hamas: Nothing new in Abbas-Clinton meeting

[ 04/03/2009 - 11:17 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

Hamas, the largest Palestinian faction in the Palestinian arena, said on Wednesday that the meeting between US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah brought nothing new to the Palestinian people.

Fawzi Barhoum, the spokesman of the Movement in the Gaza Strip, pointed out in a written statement he issued and a copy of which was obtained by the PIC that the meeting was meant to cover Israeli crimes in Gaza Strip and to give legitimacy to Abbas whose term in office had expired two months ago but insisted to remain the president of the PA.

"There is nothing new in Abbas-Clinton meeting as the statements of the US chief diplomat unveils that no changes had occurred on the US policy, especially towards the Palestinian issue, although the new US administration of president Barack Obama tried to show it was following a different approach" underlined Barhoum.

He added that Clinton and Abbas should have declared respect to the Palestinian elections results as they declared respect to the Israeli elections' results, adding that the USA should stop its double-standard policy in the region.

He also deprecated both officials for describing the destruction of tens of Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem and the increasing frequency of settlement activities in the West Bank as "harming to the peace process", stressing that what the Israeli occupation government was doing is a crime against humanity prosecutable under international laws.

"The talk of Clinton and the way she tried to demonstrate sympathy with the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip, goes completely opposite to sending tons of US-made weapons and bombs to Israel to kill the Palestinian people."

Big blow: The legitimate PA government in the Gaza Strip also belittled the meeting, and described the statements of Clinton as a "big blow" to those wagering on Obama to correct the US mistakes in the region.

"The statements of Clinton in Sharm Al-Shaikh and Ramallah were indeed a severe blow to those who attached hopes on possible changes in the US policy in the region", underlined Tahir Al-Nuno, the spokesman of the PA government.

He also called on Abbas t appropriately describe the Israeli atrocities in Gaza Strip that tantamount to ethnic cleansing instead of describing them as "harmful". At least 1500 Palestinian citizens, the bulk of them were children and women, where killed by the Israeli war machine, and thousands others were injured, hundreds in serious condition, within 22 days of Israeli bombardment of the tiny Strip two months ago.

Abbas meets US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Ramallah

Date: 04 / 03 / 2009  Time:  13:57
Ramallah – Ma’an –

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas began his meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday afternoon in Ramallah.

The two met at the Ramallah-based headquarters of the Palestinian National Authority, where a news conference will take place shortly after the talks.

Clinton met earlier with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad at the headquarters of the Council of Ministers in Ramallah, but no remarks were immediately available from that meeting.

Clinton arrived in Israel on Monday, where she met with the Israeli president, prime minister-designate and foreign minister, and insisted that America's policy remains a two-state solution to the Palestinian struggle for self-determination.

The US secretary of state said America’s assessment is “that eventually, the inevitability of working towards a two-state solution is inescapable." (All what's promised here is working towards a solution, instead of ordering Israeli occupiers to withdraw from the Palestinian territories. This means another decade of negotiations leading to nothing).

The remarks came following meetings alongside both Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

Netanyahu has generally rejected such a proposal, which would see Israel withdraw from most of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, but of late has offered limited expressions that Palestinians ought to rule themselves.

At the talks in Jerusalem that followed Clinton’s appearance at an Egyptian-sponsored aid summit for victims of Israel’s assault on Gaza, Clinton reiterated newly inaugurated US President Barack Obama’s interest in working to achieve peace in the region.

"The United States will be vigorously engaged in the pursuit of a two-state solution every step of the way," Clinton insisted, adding that “the road ahead, we acknowledge, is a difficult one, but there is no time to waste."

The comments echoed similar remarks following talks with Israel’s foreign minister, Tzipi Livni: "We happen to believe that moving towards a two-state solution is in Israel's best interests," Clinton said, a nod to Livni’s often-repeated determination to see an Israeli withdraw from the occupied territories.

According to Prime Minister-designate Netanyahu, he and Clinton “found common ground” over “attaining the common goals of our two countries.”

"We need to think creatively in order to move forward and create a different reality, both in terms of security and politically, and this is a common goal for both sides," Netanyahu added.

Clinton’s meeting with Netanyahu took place following talks with Israeli President Shimon Peres, where she vowed “to work with the government of Israel that represents the democratic will of the people of Israel.”

Following that meeting, Clinton stressed America’s commitment to Israel’s security, saying that homemade projectiles continuously launched from the Gaza Strip should end immediately: "There is no doubt that any nation, including Israel, cannot stand idly by while its territory and people are subjected to rocket attacks."

Meanwhile, Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum asserted on Tuesday that comments by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton represented an obvious call for the continuation of violence against the Palestinian people.

Barhoum’s remarks came in response to Clinton’s supposed justification for Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip, when she said, "There is no doubt that any nation, including Israel, cannot stand idly by while its territory and people are subjected to rocket attacks."

Barhoum described the comment as a direct incitement by the US against the Hamas movement as well as the Gaza Strip 's population.

Hamas says Clinton's remarks were incitement against Gaza

Date: 03 / 03 / 2009  Time:  21:17
Gaza – Ma’an –

Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum asserted on Tuesday that comments by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton represented an obvious call for the continuation of violence against the Palestinian people.

Barhoum’s remarks came in response to Clinton’s supposed justification for Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip, when she said, "There is no doubt that any nation, including Israel, cannot stand idly by while its territory and people are subjected to rocket attacks."

Barhoum described the comment as a direct incitement by the US against the Hamas movement as well as the Gaza Strip 's population.

“If such incitement and racial policy continues, we pin no hope on Hillary Clinton supporting the just cause of the Palestinian people and their rights,” Barhoum said.

“We see this policy as representing a more practical implementation of previous US wrong policies as they have always sided with the Israeli occupation and justified their criminal acts against our people,” he added.

Barhoum warned that the Israeli occupation could see these US comments as a green light to continue targeting Palestinian civilians, demanding that the US administration explain such "inciting declarations."