Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is attending the General Assembly, using her time to meet with a number of officials, including US Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice, PA (Palestinian Authority) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
Rice & Livni Meet
Secretary Rice told Livni that America stands firmly behind Israel and will not support or recognize a newly-formed PA coalition government that does not comply with the demands of the Quartet.
Rice made it clear that the State Department sees a defined separation between the “Palestinian issue and Iran,” explaining they are on two separate tracks.
The Quartet is demanding the PA government recognize Israel’s right to exist, stop using terrorism as a means to achieve its objectives, and to recognize agreements signed by previous PA administrations.
Haniyeh’s Position Remains Unchanged
In statements released as recently as this week, PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, who heads the current Hamas administration, stated his government will only recognize previous agreements that serve the PA’s interest, adopting a pick-and-chose policy. Haniyeh also made his position clear – refusing to recognize Israel in the future.
Hamas officials remain firm in their anti-Israel policies, with dozens of elected officials and cabinet ministers remaining behind bars in Israel, taken into custody following the Hamas terror attack on June 25th that led to the capture of Corporal Gilad Shalit.
Ongoing negotiations towards the establishment of a coalition to include Abu Mazen and his Fatah Party are lagging as Fatah leaders understand Haniyeh no longer enjoys widespread popularity among PA residents, perhaps sitting back and waiting for the masses to topple the Hamas-led government. Eight months of growing poverty, partially resulting from the economic boycott against the Hamas administration, have led to waning popularity for the Hamas administration. In a protest in Gaza on Monday, angry municipal employees shouted that the over 100,000 PA employees have not received salaries in over six months.
Abu Mazen Viewed as a Moderate Voice
America views Abu Mazen as a moderate, and is signaling that a government which includes him and is willing to comply with the Quarter would enjoy American support and financial aid.
The international community, including the United States, ignores the 1982 doctoral dissertation by Abu Mazen, then serving as the Secretary-General of the PLO Executive Committee, entitled, “The Secret Ties between the Nazis and the Zionist Movement Leadership.”
In the introduction to a 1984 study for Moscow’s Oriental College, based on the 1982 report, Abu Mazen raised doubts that gas chambers were used to exterminate Jews, adding that less than one million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. Abu Mazen sought to persuade the international community that the Zionist movement sought to capitalize on the Holocaust, thereby claiming a significantly larger number of Jews were killed.
(The Quartet forum is comprised of the United States, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union (EU).)
EU Will Recognize Coalition Government
In the meantime, the EU has signaled it would support a coalition including both Hamas and Fatah, even ahead of the government exhibiting compliance with Quartet demands. EU Foreign Minister Javier Solana has released statements signaling the EU anxiously awaits such a coalition to permit renewed donor nation funding of the PA.
Livni Met With Egyptian FM
The meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit captured headlines, with Egypt once again promising to deliver captive soldier Gilad Shalit, who remains in Hamas custody for almost three months.
The senior Egyptian official stated that Shalit will be released soon, perhaps in the coming days.
To date, statements by Egyptian and other Arab world officials have been discarded by Jerusalem, with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and members of his staff acknowledging that negotiations towards a prisoner release deal are ongoing, but calling to ignore the growing steam of “disinformation.”
Recent reports from Jerusalem indicate Shalit will not be released before Friday night’s start of the Rosh Hashanah New Year holiday.
Livni Meeting with Abu Mazen
As we go to print, Livni is meeting with Abu Mazen, seeking to make progress with the Fatah leader who is a hopeful for establishing a coalition government with Hamas.
High on Livni’s agenda is the release of Gilad Shalit. Abu Mazen has released statements calling on terrorists to release Shalit, stating this must be accomplished before a coalition with Hamas can be formed.
The two are also discussing the future vis-?-vis Israel-PA relations and the possibility of renewed talks. Such a move will not occur until the PA administration accepts Israel’s right to exist and conforms with the demands of the international community.
Rice & Livni Meet
Secretary Rice told Livni that America stands firmly behind Israel and will not support or recognize a newly-formed PA coalition government that does not comply with the demands of the Quartet.
Rice made it clear that the State Department sees a defined separation between the “Palestinian issue and Iran,” explaining they are on two separate tracks.
The Quartet is demanding the PA government recognize Israel’s right to exist, stop using terrorism as a means to achieve its objectives, and to recognize agreements signed by previous PA administrations.
Haniyeh’s Position Remains Unchanged
In statements released as recently as this week, PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, who heads the current Hamas administration, stated his government will only recognize previous agreements that serve the PA’s interest, adopting a pick-and-chose policy. Haniyeh also made his position clear – refusing to recognize Israel in the future.
Hamas officials remain firm in their anti-Israel policies, with dozens of elected officials and cabinet ministers remaining behind bars in Israel, taken into custody following the Hamas terror attack on June 25th that led to the capture of Corporal Gilad Shalit.
Ongoing negotiations towards the establishment of a coalition to include Abu Mazen and his Fatah Party are lagging as Fatah leaders understand Haniyeh no longer enjoys widespread popularity among PA residents, perhaps sitting back and waiting for the masses to topple the Hamas-led government. Eight months of growing poverty, partially resulting from the economic boycott against the Hamas administration, have led to waning popularity for the Hamas administration. In a protest in Gaza on Monday, angry municipal employees shouted that the over 100,000 PA employees have not received salaries in over six months.
Abu Mazen Viewed as a Moderate Voice
America views Abu Mazen as a moderate, and is signaling that a government which includes him and is willing to comply with the Quarter would enjoy American support and financial aid.
The international community, including the United States, ignores the 1982 doctoral dissertation by Abu Mazen, then serving as the Secretary-General of the PLO Executive Committee, entitled, “The Secret Ties between the Nazis and the Zionist Movement Leadership.”
In the introduction to a 1984 study for Moscow’s Oriental College, based on the 1982 report, Abu Mazen raised doubts that gas chambers were used to exterminate Jews, adding that less than one million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. Abu Mazen sought to persuade the international community that the Zionist movement sought to capitalize on the Holocaust, thereby claiming a significantly larger number of Jews were killed.
(The Quartet forum is comprised of the United States, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union (EU).)
EU Will Recognize Coalition Government
In the meantime, the EU has signaled it would support a coalition including both Hamas and Fatah, even ahead of the government exhibiting compliance with Quartet demands. EU Foreign Minister Javier Solana has released statements signaling the EU anxiously awaits such a coalition to permit renewed donor nation funding of the PA.
Livni Met With Egyptian FM
The meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit captured headlines, with Egypt once again promising to deliver captive soldier Gilad Shalit, who remains in Hamas custody for almost three months.
The senior Egyptian official stated that Shalit will be released soon, perhaps in the coming days.
To date, statements by Egyptian and other Arab world officials have been discarded by Jerusalem, with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and members of his staff acknowledging that negotiations towards a prisoner release deal are ongoing, but calling to ignore the growing steam of “disinformation.”
Recent reports from Jerusalem indicate Shalit will not be released before Friday night’s start of the Rosh Hashanah New Year holiday.
Livni Meeting with Abu Mazen
As we go to print, Livni is meeting with Abu Mazen, seeking to make progress with the Fatah leader who is a hopeful for establishing a coalition government with Hamas.
High on Livni’s agenda is the release of Gilad Shalit. Abu Mazen has released statements calling on terrorists to release Shalit, stating this must be accomplished before a coalition with Hamas can be formed.
The two are also discussing the future vis-?-vis Israel-PA relations and the possibility of renewed talks. Such a move will not occur until the PA administration accepts Israel’s right to exist and conforms with the demands of the international community.