Abbas called for an international conference to renew talks with Israel and promised that terror organization Hamas, which now controls the PA, would not be a problem. He insisted that his own Fatah party (Palestinian Liberation Organization) still has a mandate to talk peace since all previous agreements with Israel were signed by his party.
“I am ready to immediately resume negotiations with the Israeli government,” he said during a visit to Norway. “It is important for me to clarify that the Palestinian legislative elections, which brought Hamas to power, [are] not an obstacle.”
Israel was not so ready to come to the table, however, maintaining its position that the PA must first end the attacks against Israel before peace talks could resume.
Israel is not willing to begin talks with Abbas when the ruling party, Hamas, continues to endorse violence and refuse to recognize Israel’s right to exist. Hamas also refuses to uphold the previous peace agreements reached with Fatah.
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Fatah leader Abbas both claim to run the Palestinian Authority, making it unclear as to who is really authorized to sign peace agreements, if anyone.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Wednesday that “Israel believes that the best way to move forward is according to the Rroad Mmap, which is the international community’s accepted plan for the Middle East peace process.”
He pointed out that the PA government is not yet ready to move ahead with such a plan, and in fact is not ready to move ahead at all. “The Rroad mMap has been endorsed by Europe, America, Russian and the United Nations,” he said. “Unfortunately, the Palestinian leadership under Hamas refuses to accept the rRoad mMap or even Israel’s right to exist.”
Under the unilateral withdrawal plan devised by Prime Minister-designate elect Ehud Olmert, Israel would pull out from large blocs of land in Yehuda and Shomron in and set permanent borders. Other blocs with large concentrations of Jewish communities would be retained.
The plan which is to be completed by 2010, also calls for Israel to keep most of East Jerusalem. The PA has long insisted that East Jerusalem would become its future capital in a new state to be run by the Palestinian Authority.
The United States, meanwhile, has maintained that borders cannot be drawn unilaterally and must be negotiated between both parties, Israel and the PA.
“Our position is quite simple, said U.S. Embassy spokesman Stuart Tuttle, based in Tel Aviv. “No unilateral initiative will contribute to President Bush’s vision of two states living side by side in security,” he added.
Norway also promised on Wednesday to deliver $20 million in foreign aid to the PA, but Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said other ways would be found to channel the money to the people and not the Hamas government. He said the funds would most likely be sent through Norwegian nonprofit organizations or the United Nations.
Most Western nations cut funding to the PA when terrorist organization Hamas won the recent elections in a landslide. Hundreds of millions of dollars were lost to the PA when Hamas took over, including monthly transfers from Israel of some $55 million in taxes that it collects for the PA.
Hamas continues to stand by its campaign promise not to recognize Israel, give up its weapons or fulfill peace agreements with Israel reached by the previous PA government.
“I am ready to immediately resume negotiations with the Israeli government,” he said during a visit to Norway. “It is important for me to clarify that the Palestinian legislative elections, which brought Hamas to power, [are] not an obstacle.”
Israel was not so ready to come to the table, however, maintaining its position that the PA must first end the attacks against Israel before peace talks could resume.
Israel is not willing to begin talks with Abbas when the ruling party, Hamas, continues to endorse violence and refuse to recognize Israel’s right to exist. Hamas also refuses to uphold the previous peace agreements reached with Fatah.
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Fatah leader Abbas both claim to run the Palestinian Authority, making it unclear as to who is really authorized to sign peace agreements, if anyone.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Wednesday that “Israel believes that the best way to move forward is according to the Rroad Mmap, which is the international community’s accepted plan for the Middle East peace process.”
He pointed out that the PA government is not yet ready to move ahead with such a plan, and in fact is not ready to move ahead at all. “The Rroad mMap has been endorsed by Europe, America, Russian and the United Nations,” he said. “Unfortunately, the Palestinian leadership under Hamas refuses to accept the rRoad mMap or even Israel’s right to exist.”
Under the unilateral withdrawal plan devised by Prime Minister-designate elect Ehud Olmert, Israel would pull out from large blocs of land in Yehuda and Shomron in and set permanent borders. Other blocs with large concentrations of Jewish communities would be retained.
The plan which is to be completed by 2010, also calls for Israel to keep most of East Jerusalem. The PA has long insisted that East Jerusalem would become its future capital in a new state to be run by the Palestinian Authority.
The United States, meanwhile, has maintained that borders cannot be drawn unilaterally and must be negotiated between both parties, Israel and the PA.
“Our position is quite simple, said U.S. Embassy spokesman Stuart Tuttle, based in Tel Aviv. “No unilateral initiative will contribute to President Bush’s vision of two states living side by side in security,” he added.
Norway also promised on Wednesday to deliver $20 million in foreign aid to the PA, but Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said other ways would be found to channel the money to the people and not the Hamas government. He said the funds would most likely be sent through Norwegian nonprofit organizations or the United Nations.
Most Western nations cut funding to the PA when terrorist organization Hamas won the recent elections in a landslide. Hundreds of millions of dollars were lost to the PA when Hamas took over, including monthly transfers from Israel of some $55 million in taxes that it collects for the PA.
Hamas continues to stand by its campaign promise not to recognize Israel, give up its weapons or fulfill peace agreements with Israel reached by the previous PA government.