Lieberman: trilateral meeting is a victory; no halt on settlement

[24/09/2009 - 12:37 PM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)

The extremist Israeli occupation government foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, described the trilateral meeting between Obama, Netanyahu and Abbas as a victory for Israel because it took place without Israel having to stop settlement building in the West Bank as originally demanded by the Palestinians.

He also expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting and warned that the negotiations were going to be long and complicated and no one can predict the outcome.

He added that there was a slight chance for peace with the Palestinians in the future but he would prefer Palestinians agreeing the status quo stressing that there were many unresolved conflicts around the world.

He told Yediot Ahranot that he was glad that Obama did not ask Israel to "freeze" its settlement activity, he asked it to "restrain" activities in the settlements, adding that he knows well the difference between the two in the English language.

Meanwhile, less that 24 hours after the trilateral meeting New York, the Israeli War Minster Ehud Barak approved the building of 37 housing units in the illegal Israeli Settlement of Karnei Shomron in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank.

Resheq: Results of trilateral meeting big blow to Abbas and retinue

[ 25/09/2009 - 08:11 PM ]

DAMASCUS, (PIC)--

Ezzat Al-Resheq, member of the Hamas political bureau, has described results of the trilateral meeting between former PA chief Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli premier Binyamin Netanyahu, and US president Barack Obama as big blow to Abbas and his associates, and to all those wagering on the futile negotiations with the Zionist entity.

In a press statement on Thursday, Resheq called on Abbas to free himself from fancies, and to stop the policy of compromise.

"The outcomes of the Abbas-Netanyahu-Obama meeting were indeed a big blow to the first, victory to the second, and an achievement to the third, and categorically refute the rumors on a rift in the US-Israeli relationship after Netanyahu refused to heed US call to freeze settlement activities on the occupied Palestinian lands", Resheq pointed out.

He added that the summit was a good chance for leaders of the White House, in the presence of Abbas, to confirm their commitment to the security of the Zionist entity and of their understanding of its hostile policies towards the Palestinian people, noting that both Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman and Netanyahu have hailed the meeting and expressed comfort about the results.

Moreover, Resheq charged that the speech of Obama at the United Nations about the Middle East was deceptive and in the same way his predecessor George W. Bush used to mislead and sell illusions.

"The fact that Obama failed to pressure the Zionist entity to freeze settlement activities in the West Bank and in Jerusalem while urging the Palestinians to go ahead with the negotiations without preconditions meant to give more time to the Israeli party to continue the settlement activities and to impose facts on the ground that would make creating an independent and viable Palestinian state something impossible", Resheq stressed.

Resheq called on the Arab and Muslim countries not to fall for the American bait, urging them to bolster the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and to break the unjust siege on them.

He also invited Abbas to refrain from dealing with US and Israeli promises, adding that it is about time for Abbas to listen to national interests of the Palestinian people and that he should work sincerely to end the Palestinian political division.

Hamas: Netanyahu emerged winner from trilateral meeting

[ 25/09/2009 - 01:23 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

The Hamas Movement has urged Mahmoud Abbbas and his Fat'h Movement to stop deceiving and misleading the Palestinian people by attaching more hopes on the "useless" negotiations with the Israelis, stressing that Israeli occupation government premier Binyamin Netanyahu emerged victorious from the trilateral meeting in New York.

In a written statement it issued Thursday and a copy of which was obtained by the PIC, Hamas opined that Netanyahu was the big winner in that meeting as he remained committed to his stands and conditions, and achieved all what he aimed at including pursuing settlement activities on the occupied Palestinian lands, and of resuming negotiations with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority without preconditions.

On the other hand, Hamas stressed that Abbas and his team were the big losers in the meeting as they emerged empty-handed, charging that by attending the meeting, Abbas and his associates presented gratis indulgences to the Israeli leaders exonerating them from all the crimes against humanity they had committed against the Palestinian people, particularly in the Gaza Strip.

In the same context, Hamas deprecated the "obvious" USA bias to the Israeli occupation at the expense of the legal rights of the Palestinian people, pointing out that US president Barack Obama has flagrantly reneged on his stands (in the presence of Abbas and Netanyahu) against Israeli settlements after he urged Netanyahu to "restrain" settlement activities instead of freezing them as he previously demanded, and stressed that Israeli-PA negotiations should resume without preconditions, exactly as what Netanyahu wanted.

Moreover, Hamas castigated Obama for calling for bilateral negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians "for the time being", backing out from previous calls he made for comprehensive negotiations on all paths with Arab countries, although he reiterated his call on Arab countries to take tangible steps to normalize ties with the Zionist entity, alleging it would push the peace process forward.

Hamas urged the Ramallah-based authority not to attach hopes on the "futile" negotiations with the Israelis, and not wager on the USA after Obama's administration said its word and clearly backed the Israeli vision and conditions for peace in the region.

"The alternative for such futile steps is to stop taking national decisions individually and away from the general Palestinian consensus, and to return back to the Palestinian mainstream in order to make national reconciliation efforts succeed, to confront the big challenges united, and to impose the Palestinian will in the region", Hamas underlined in the statement.

The Movement also invited Arab countries to reject US calls for free normalization of ties with the Israeli occupation, and to ignore Obama's call on them to offer "gestures of goodwill" towards "criminal" Netanyahu and his extremist authority.