Palestinian Presidential Adviser Says No Progress in Israeli- Palestinian Talks

Nov 04, 08:04 AM

Current Headlines: Text of report by London-based newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi website on 3 November

[Report by Walid Awad from Ramallah: "Nisr Hammad to Al-Quds al- Arabi: "No Progress Has Been Made in Negotiations With Israel"]

Nimr Hammad, political adviser to Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, told Al-Quds al-Arabi Friday evening [2 November] that the negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides have so far achieved no progress and that the Palestinian leadership is awaiting what US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has to offer during her upcoming tour to bridge the gap between the Palestinian and Israeli positions. Rice is scheduled to arrive in the region on Sunday [ 4 November] on a three-day tour, during which she will try to bring closer the viewpoints of the Palestinian and Israeli sides in order to reach a joint peace document, to be presented at the Annapolis conference called for by US President George Bush.

Hammad noted that the Palestinian leadership is awaiting the US proposals to resolve issues of disagreement between the two sides, particularly with regard to the required timetable to conclude negotiations between the two sides on final status issues such as the borders, Jerusalem, and refugees, and how to include these issues in the required joint document.

Hammad noted that the Palestinian leadership is wagering on Rice's upcoming visit to develop the Israeli position and push it towards making progress in the negotiations with the Palestinians, in order to reach a peace document that will serve as a base for launching serious negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis in order to put an end to the conflict, particularly since partisan disputes inside Israel are controlling current Israeli policy.

On the other hand, Hammad noted that there is a campaign in Washington against Keith Dayton, the United States' security coordinator in the [Palestine] Authority, after he informed the US Administration that the Palestinian side has implemented many of its commitments as stipulated in the first phase of the road map and that Israel must implement its commitments as stipulated in the first phase of the road map by restoring the situation that existed before 28 September 2000. This has displeased Israel and the extremist neoconservatives in the US Administration.

Hammad has cast doubt on the Israeli Government's seriousness about the peace process, noting that the current internal coalition between the Israeli political parties is controlling the actions of the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

For his part, Ahmad Quray, head of the Palestinian negotiating delegation to the international peace conference, said on Friday that the peace conference scheduled to be held in the coming few weeks is an opportunity that the Palestinians must exploit only if it is based on an agreement between the two sides - the Palestinians and the Israelis - on a clear document that includes all final status issues.

During a meeting with Fatah-affiliated heads of [municipal] councils and local bodies in governorates in the northern West Bank, Quray said that the international conference is an opportunity that must be exploited and dealt with seriously, particularly since "we have been calling for an international peace conference for a long time, one that is based on achieving national constants and dreams that we will not relinquish." He added that the Palestinian side wants the conference to achieve results because its failure will have "dangerous repercussions on us, on the region, and on all parties." Quray added that in order for the conference to be successful, there must be a clear vision and a clear agreement on [each] issue of the main final status issues. Moreover, he said: "We will go to the conference so that we do not blame ourselves, so that our people will not blame us, and so that the world will not blame us as has happened in the past."

He noted that the Palestinian side has managed to transform the meeting from a small meeting into an international conference thanks to the efforts of President Mahmud Abbas during his recent visit to the United States, where the Palestinian delegation met with more than 60 delegations. These meetings resulted in the participation in the international conference of the international Quartet, the Security Council permanent members, the G 8 countries, at least 12 Arab countries, Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa, and three Muslim countries - Indonesia, Turkey, and Malaysia - and this is not the final list of countries. Quray noted that the negotiations require support from Fatah cadres and that the position of the movement and its cadres support the negotiations proceeding in a sound manner.

For his part, Dr Sa'ib Urayqat, head of the PLO Negotiations Affairs Department, said that the Palestinian and Israeli negotiating delegations have so far failed to formulate a joint document and that the two delegations are still at the stage of exchanging ideas.

Originally published by Al-Quds al-Arabi website, London, in Arabic 3 Nov 07.

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