Palestinian PM submits resignation

[L@mplighterM]

Snip:

Sept. 6 — Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas submitted his resignation to Yasser Arafat Saturday, said chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. The resignation dealt a serious blow to U.S.-backed peace efforts. Meanwhile, Israeli helicopters fired missiles at a Gaza City strike Saturday, lightly wounding Hamas founder and spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin in his hand, Hamas officials said.

http://msnbc.com/news/801833.asp

[RichardP]

Originally posted by L@mplighterM
Snip:

Sept. 6 — Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas submitted his resignation to Yasser Arafat Saturday, said chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. The resignation dealt a serious blow to U.S.-backed peace efforts. Meanwhile, Israeli helicopters fired missiles at a Gaza City strike Saturday, lightly wounding Hamas founder and spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin in his hand, Hamas officials said.

http://msnbc.com/news/801833.asp

His term of leadership was a farce. Arafat was never going to relinquish power to Abbas or anyone else. The so called 'peace efforts' have never been out of trouble: until the Palestinians are serious in any 'peace initiative' they are doomed to failure. I cannot see this happening in my lifetime nor my childerns'!

[Belgium]

Ah, after a couple of crisisses between these two, one has finally step down. Bu the wrong one for the peace.

[Lowell]

Peace, shmeace. Like Arafat, like Abbas- terrorists both. Hang 'em high!

[RichardP]

Originally posted by Lowell
Peace, shmeace. Like Arafat, like Abbas- terrorists both. Hang 'em high!

You've got that one right, Lowell... it was a farce from the very beginning! They anoint these ba****ds as though they are God’s gift to mankind. When in truth they are the epitome of malevolence. Perhaps we should have Donna put a hex on Arafat and his cronies.

[Mediocrates]

Jewish Week Wireless(News)

If Abbas Falls, Israel Seen Going It Alone (09/05/2003)
Stewart Ain - Staff Writer
(Israel) Separation eyed as growing alternative amid Palestinian power struggle.

As Palestinian President Yasir Arafat declared “dead” the international road map to peace and his prime minister waged a continuing power struggle against him, a growing number of Israelis were viewing unilateral separation as the best interim solution to the conflict.

“General opinion in Israel is ripe for unilateral separation, especially since there is no one on the other side with which to sign an agreement on how to divide the land,” said Mordechai Kedar, a professor of political science at Bar-Ilan University.

He said there is a growing belief that “we should rescue our state by getting rid of big Arab populations” by putting them on the other side of Israel’s security fence. The barrier now being constructed in the West Bank would become that border, he said.

Kedar said such a move might come sooner rather than later if Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, loses a no-confidence vote should one be taken in the Palestinian Legislative Council.

If Abbas is “kicked out,” Kedar said, unilateral separation “comes up in a strong way.”

“Since there would be no partner on the other side, we would divide the land the way we like and let the Palestinians whine until the end of days,” he said. “We would do what is good for the Jews. … Let them do what they like [on their side of the border], and if they want to make peace with us, let them.”

The United States has reportedly informed Palestinian leaders that should Abbas lose a no-confidence vote, it would withdraw the road map and no longer work for a Palestinian state by 2005. American mediator John Wolfe was quoted as telling Ahmed Qureia, better known as Abu Ala, chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council, that the Bush administration would “not allow the Abu Mazen government to fall.”

Qureia reportedly complained that the infighting is harming Palestinian interests and noted that Abbas is weakened because of his support from the United States and Israel.

Henry Siegman, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, returned this week for a visit to Israel and said Qureia is taking the lead in trying to find a compromise that would “avoid a confrontation” between Arafat and Abbas.

“There are deep internal fissures with the Palestinian Authority and it is not likely that they can be reconciled in such a manner that will enable Abu Mazen to function as prime minister,” he said. “The point is not that he have a title but authority, and increasingly it is becoming very doubtful that someone will be able to exercise authority as prime minister under Arafat.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom has said that should Abbas be ousted, “I will not negotiate with a new government formed under the instructions and the influence of Arafat.”

Jonathan Peled, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the government of Israel believes that “at the end of the day reason will prevail and he will not be ousted. This crisis will blow over, but it is weakening Abu Mazen and the whole Palestinian political system. There is no way for there to be law and order as long as there is a lack of support for Abu Mazen.”

Asked about Arafat’s statement to CNN that the “road map is dead, but only because of Israeli military aggression in recent weeks,” Peled replied: “We don’t take everything that Mr. Arafat says seriously. … If [the road map] is dying it is because of Arafat.”

Arafat also insisted in the CNN interview that the U.S. had not done enough to keep the road map alive, possibly because of the Iraqi conflict or the upcoming presidential election. But Peled said Israel does not agree, noting that Wolfe is in Israel and is closely following developments and working with the Palestinians.

As Arafat continued to remain at center stage despite the efforts of Israel and the United States to disregard him as “irrelevant” to the peace process, the chorus of those calling for Arafat’s forced exile continues to grow. Opinion polls show that most Israelis want him forcibly exiled, a move that Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said the government may have to decide upon in coming months.

“Because of the situation and because Arafat never wanted to reach an agreement with us … I think that he has to disappear from the stage of history, and not be included in the ranks of the Palestinian leadership,” Mofaz told Israel Army Radio.

But Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told The Jewish Week last week that Arafat had enough supporters that he would continue to direct Palestinian Authority operations from abroad. And Siegman said he believed such a move would backfire.

“It would only weaken Abu Mazen because he has been seen until now as a tool of [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon and U.S. policy,” he explained. “The reason is because he has not been able to produce anything to change their [Palestinian] lives. … It’s tough enough for him to deal with that issue while Arafat is locked up [at his Ramallah compound], it would be impossible for him to function if Arafat was thrown out. He would then have to make a picture of solidarity with the abused and exiled president.”

But Leslie Feldman, an associate professor of political science at Hofstra University in Hempstead, L.I., said Arafat “must be out of the picture.”

“If Sharon had expelled Arafat a year ago as he wanted to do, things would have gone much more smoothly,” she said. “He instigates terror behind the scenes. He provides the money and supports [the terrorists]. It’s never too late to get rid of a proven failure. I would support sending him to Tripoli or Paris. He is clearly not part of the solution and is clearly part of the problem.”

Siegman said he returned from his trip to the region “fearful.”

“There is only bloodshed and agony as far as the eye can see,” he said. “The U.S. must say Israel should return to its pre-1967 borders — subject to changes through negotiation that would include 80 percent of the Israelis” now living in the territories.

In return for giving up that West Bank land, the Palestinians would get comparable land within the pre-1967 border, Siegman said.

“The U.S. should say this is the only fair solution and that Israel has to come to terms with it,” he added. “There are many important considerations regarding Israel’s security, but the single most important is American support and friendship.

If the U.S. takes the position that Israel would lose American support if Israel refuses to make a responsible agreement along the lines indicated, you can be sure that if not this government another would come back” to proposals offered by the government of Prime Minister Ehud Barak in January 2001. n

© 2000 The Jewish Week, Inc. All rights reserved. Please refer to the legal notice for other important information.

[L@mplighterM]

Who’s being stupid here, the PA or the Israeli administration?

The Palestinians had several hundred prisoners released and the Israelis were bombarded with missiles and suicide/homicide bombings.

Arabs are Arabs and they haven’t really changed much, in other words they are predictable. Arafat and Abbas played a good cop bad cop game with Israel and clearly walked away with the cake. As despicable as these individuals are one has to admit that they outfoxed Sharon.

Through all of this the US Administration still believes that the Roadmap to Peace is still a go.

[L@mplighterM]

Sep. 6, 2003
Israel says road map goes with Abbas resignation
By HERB KEINON



Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Office responded to Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas's resignation Saturday by saying Israel would not accept a situation where the PA is controlled by Yasser Arafat or someone who does his bidding.

At the same time, Israeli diplomatic said the move is likely just a tactical maneuver by Abbas.

While one official said Abbas resigned in order to bring massive international pressure on Arafat to take him back and give him real power, other officials said it was a tactical move to get Israel and the US to reduce pressure on Abbas to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure.

"This is the only first scene in the first play," one official in the Prime Minister's Office said. "It is a show. They are trying to show the Americans they are having all kinds of problems, and that they need more time to get organized."

The official said that the attempted assassination of the Hamas' leadership in Gaza Saturday is a message that Israel is not willing to give the PA any more time to dismantle the terror infrastructure. "We have said that if the PA does not take action against Hamas we will do so, and we mean what we say," the official said.

One senior diplomatic official said if Abbas does indeed leave the scene, he will be taking the road map with him since Israel signed on to this plan with the understanding that Abbas would be the partner, not Arafat. Israel will not proceed with the road map if Arafat or someone doing his bidding is calling the PA's shots, the official said.

"The problem is that Abbas is committed to the road map and the Aqaba summit, and wants to pursue a course of action that will lead to a two-state solution, while Arafat represents the strategy of terror," the official said.

The official said the choice for the Palestinians is between the road map and a two-state solution, or Arafat, terror, and no Palestinian state.

"The Palestinians have to choose a different strategy," the official said. "Now they are choosing Arafat, and will get nothing but Arafat stuck inside his Ramallah compound."

The official warned that if Arafat, who he said has done everything possible to undermine Abbas, overplays his hand, Israel will once again debate whether to expel Arafat, and the US may then be willing to "remove its protective shield."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...=1062832237520



Too much talking!

[Frans_1]

Look at Abbas' face in that link as he "leaves office". Tell me if he isn't totally smug.

Abbas is an actor who is playing his role next to Arafat in the great Arab show.

[RichardP]

Originally posted by Frans_1
Look at Abbas' face in that link as he "leaves office". Tell me if he isn't totally smug.

Abbas is an actor who is playing his role next to Arafat in the great Arab show.

Abbas is smug, he is one of them... a terrorist, not unlike Arafat and the other Hyenas! Perhaps his adorers in Hollywood will offer him a role in an upcoming movie... "Liar, Liar, the Sequel!

[Leon]

Mazen was the obstacle for peace on this bumpy U.S led road. His tenor as Prime Minister was due to fail from day one. The sooner this bump or obstacle is out the better- and as it was just removed yesterday. Israel can now deal directly with the Terrorist cheif Yasser Arafat. How effectivley they will deal with this coniving beast will be measured against how much Israel woud be willing to bow to the whims of the international community.

[RichardP]

Originally posted by Leon
Mazen was the obstacle for peace on this bumpy U.S led road. His tenor as Prime Minister was due to fail from day one. The sooner this bump or obstacle is out the better- and as it was just removed yesterday. Israel can now deal directly with the Terrorist cheif Yasser Arafat. How effectivley they will deal with this coniving beast will be measured against how much Israel woud be willing to bow to the whims of the international community.

Israel has strongly stated, they will in no way deal with Arafat, or anyone he anoints to the position of PM. I pray Israel no longer bows to the dictate of the US or any other country's. If others are
still ignorant of Arafat's true intent; they will come up the losers, not Israel. Israel must now act with the full intent of eradicating these vermin and damn her detractors. They are not on the brink of destruction as is Israel... not as of yet!

[L@mplighterM]

In the good old days noblemen could kill with impunity and fork over a few gold coins to the church and receive absolution.

Sharon knows if he kills Arafat it’ll cost Israel dearly in terms of military aid from the US. Sharon becomes the Pope that receives money from the US and deliverers absolution to Arafat for his implication in the killing of Jews.

Bush is the nobleman that’s forking out money right and left in his fight against terrorism. One has to wonder just how serious the US Administration is in its fight against terrorism since they are willing to let Arafat live.

Perhaps the US Administration has made deals under the table with Islam (Re:Arafat) in order to prosecute the war in Iraq.

[RichardP]

Originally posted by L@mplighterM
In the good old days noblemen could kill with impunity and fork over a few gold coins to the church and receive absolution.

Sharon knows if he kills Arafat it’ll cost Israel dearly in terms of military aid from the US. Sharon becomes the Pope that receives money from the US and deliverers absolution to Arafat for his implication in the killing of Jews.

Bush is the nobleman that’s forking out money right and left in his fight against terrorism. One has to wonder just how serious the US Administration is in its fight against terrorism since they are willing to let Arafat live.

Perhaps the US Administration has made deals under the table with Islam (Re:Arafat) in order to prosecute the war in Iraq.

Anything is possible in this day and age, L@mplighter... it makes me sick! If we ever found out the truth, it would likely scare the hell out of us!

[L@mplighterM]

Originally posted by RichardP
Anything is possible in this day and age, L@mplighter... it makes me sick! If we ever found out the truth, it would likely scare the hell out of us!

Sometimes it can take up to a century to release archival information, it depends on what country and the type of data. All countries seal secrets from commoners to protect the innocent and the not so.

That’s democracy! As far as I’m concerned everything should be on the table at any given time.

One thing that comes to mind here is Hess when he flew to Britain and wanted to negotiate an end to the war. What did he say? What deals did he want to cut? Who was he speaking for?

In the end a human life is an easily replaced commodity. Useless information (might have seemed important at the time) often bought Nazi war criminals freedom and they were given new identities. And life goes on…