Israel's Refusal to Present Borders with Palestinian State Marks End of Amman Talks

January 28, 2012

Molcho Presents Verbal Stance On Borders

Friday January 27, 2012 05:06 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli daily, Haaretz, reported Wednesday that Israeli Envoy, Yitzhak Molcho, presented on Wednesday a verbal Israeli stance on the issue of borders, during talks with Chief Palestinian Negotiator, Dr. Saeb Erekat, in Amman, Jordan.

Haaretz said that Molcho only presented a verbal stance, and did not provide any documents in this regard; the stance only included general principles without presenting any maps or ratios of land swap.

One of the principles that Molcho presented was an Israeli demand that, under any permanent peace agreement with the Palestinians, Jewish settlers living in the West Bank (on stolen Palestinian lands), in areas that Israel dubs as “Israeli lands”, should remain in their settlements that will be “part of Israel”.

Erekat demanded Molcho to present further details and maps, while Molcho said that he will provide all answers on the issue, in the coming few days.

Haaretz reported that Erekat refused to accept the verbal Israeli ‘offer’ regarding security arrangements provided by the head of the Israeli army Strategic Planning Division.

On his part, Molcho said that Israel will present its stance regarding security arrangements in the coming meeting.

Furthermore, Haaretz said that “despite the fact that Netanyahu’s government agreed, for the first time ever, to discuss geographic issues, the government seems to be conducting a tactical maneuver to pressure the Palestinian Authority into resuming direct peace talks with Tel Aviv," especially since consecutive Israeli government always refused to hold talks on main issues such as borders, natural resources, Jerusalem, and the Right of Return of Palestinian Refugees.

Several Palestinian factions slammed the Fateh-led P.A. in the West Bank for accepting to hold talks with Israeli officials, mainly due to the fact that peace talks collapsed due to Israel’s ongoing invasions, violations, home demolitions in Jerusalem, and the ongoing illegal settlement construction and expansion in the occupied territories, including in East Jerusalem.

The P.A. said that the talks in Amman were conducted to explore the possibilities of resuming official peace talks, and are not considered an official resumption of the peace process.

Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are illegal under international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Israel’s Refusal to Present Borders with Palestinian State Marks End of Talks

Thursday January 26, 2012 11:36 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

The recent talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have reached a standstill, with the Israeli negotiators refusing to present borders between Israel and a future Palestinian state. With the deadline set for Thursday January 26 by Palestinian negotiators, and no progress having been made, the talks have been declared a failure.

Since the state of Israel was created in 1948, the Israeli government has never declared its borders, and has continually expanded its territory through the use of force. Currently, the Israeli military controls more than 85% of historic Palestine, and Israeli settlements continue to expand further onto Palestinian land in violation of international law.

During the five exploratory meetings between Israeli and Palestinian officials in Amman, Jordan, over the last several weeks, the Palestinian Authority leaders attempted to get a commitment from Israeli officials on firm borders between an Israeli and Palestinian state, but Israel’s representative to the meetings, Isaac Molho, refused to present a position on the issue of borders.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the King of Jordan that the talks were unproductive given Israel’s refusal to present any option on the border issue, and plans to meet with other Arab leaders next week to plan the next steps.

Abbas said he will not close the door on potential negotiations with the Israelis, if the Israeli government shows a willingness to present borders as a starting point for any future talks.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said that he is hesitant to declare the talks a failure, adding that he plans to consult with Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the Quartet for Middle East Peace on the next steps.

Previous attempts at negotiations ended with Israeli pledges to end settlement construction, but those pledges were quickly broken, often before the talks were even completed. Over 500,000 Israelis have moved into settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem – most of whom have moved into settlements in the nineteen years since the Oslo Agreement was signed to declare an end to the conflict – in direct violation of that agreement.

Fifth Final Meeting Between Erekat & Molcho to be Held in Amman

Wednesday January 25, 2012 11:32 by Alaa Ashkar - IMEMC & Agencies

The Palestinian senior negotiator, Dr. Saed Erekat, and the Israeli negotiator, Yitzhak Molcho, will be holding a meeting in the Jordanian capital of Amman to discuss the resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks and resolving the outstanding issues. The meeting is to be brokered by Jordan and the European Union, the Ma'an News Agency reported Wednesday morning.

Member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hanna Amira, stated that the P.A. leadership would not make any decision regarding extending negotiations with Israel, stating that Netanyahu’s cabinet does not intend to make any progress over negotiations and peace process with the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinian sources reported that scheduled meeting between Erekat and Molcho would be the last meeting, pointing out that huge pressures are being exerted on the International Middle East Quartet in order to going forward with such meetings after the P.A. announced that it won’t participate in any meeting after the one to be held on Wednesday in Amman.

Palestinian officials said that several P.A. meetings are to be held in the Palestinian Territories and Egypt later on, after the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas returns to Ramallah. Meanwhile, the follow-up committee of the Arab Peace Initiative would discuss the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks on January 29, 2012.

The Palestinian Authority has threatened that it would take steps after January 26 if the meetings being held in Amman break down.

Meetings between the Palestinian senior negotiator, Dr. Saeb Erekat, and the Israeli negotiator, Yitzhak Molcho, have been held in the Jordanian capital of Amman in an attempt to resume the halted Palestinian-Israeli negotiations for more than two weeks.

Fair Use Notice

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.