Abbas: Palestinians ready to end all historic claims against Israel once they get their state

Abbas: Palestinians ready to end all historic claims against Israel once they get their state

Karin Laub
Associated Press
October 17, 2010

RAMALLAH, West Bank - The Palestinians are ready to end all historic claims against Israel once they establish their state in the lands Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast War, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday, addressing a long-standing Israeli demand.

In an interview with Israel TV, Abbas also said negotiations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remain his preferred choice, but that he will consider other options if talks break down over Israel's continued settlement expansion.

Negotiations were relaunched by the Obama administration last month, but quickly faltered over Israel's refusal to extend a curb on Jewish settlement construction. Abbas says there's no point negotiating as long as settlements take over more land claimed by the Palestinians.

The Palestinians want to establish a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967. Israel has withdrawn from Gaza, but about half a million Israelis have settled in the other war-won areas.

Netanyahu wants the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and said earlier this week he might extend a curb on settlement construction in exchange for such recognition. A 10-month-old moratorium on West Bank housing starts expired in late September, and Abbas has said he will not return to negotiations without an extension.

The Palestinians argue that it's not up to them to determine the nature of the state of Israel. Abbas noted that Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization recognized each other in 1993, saying this should be sufficient. Abbas heads the PLO.

However, in an apparent attempt to reach out to Israeli public opinion, he said that once the Palestinians have established their state in the 1967 borders, "there is another important thing to end, the conflict, and we are ready for that, to end the historic demands."

He did not elaborate on specifically which demands he was relinquishing, but traditionally Palestinians have demanded the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homelands in Israeli territory.

Asked about options if talks collapse, Abbas said the Palestinians might turn to the U.N. Security Council to seek recognition of their state. "All the options are open, but we don't want to use all of them right now. We are focusing on resuming direct talks," he said.

He said that for the time being, he has not considered resigning or dissolving the Palestinian Authority, his self-rule government which has limited control over about 40 percent of the West Bank.

Abbas defended his decision not to resume talks until Israel curbs settlements, noting that the international community is unanimous in its demand for a settlement freeze. "When (President Barack) Obama came to power, he is the one who announced that settlement activity must be stopped," Abbas said. "If American says it and Europe says it and the whole world says it, you want me not to say it?"

Since the start of negotiations, Abbas said he spent about 25 hours talking to Netanyahu directly, and that they spoke freely.

Abbas said that when he appealed to Netanyahu to halt settlement building, the Israeli leader told him his government would fall. Netanyahu heads a center-right coalition with several pro-settlement parties.

"I told him this is a historic opportunity for you that we sign a peace agreement," Abbas said of his conversations with Netanyahu. "I am afraid if we can't do it these days, the opportunity will be lost."

In other developments Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel has resumed indirect talks with the Hamas rulers of Gaza about swapping hundreds of Palestinian prisoners for a captive soldier held for more than four years. The German mediator who has been working to broker a deal to bring home the soldier for about a year has returned to the region, Netanyahu said. The soldier was captured in 2006.

In northern Gaza, meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike killed two militants.

The Israeli military said its air force targeted a squad of militants preparing to fire rockets at Israel.

The militants' affiliation was not immediately known, but they did not appear to be connected to Hamas or any other major group since there was no claim of responsibility.

The Israeli military said more than 165 rockets and mortars have been fired at Israel from Gaza so far this year.

It's like night and day between Hamas and Abbas. Rhyme not intended.

I can very well believe that the average Palestinian does want a peaceful settlement. What I don't believe is that Hamas and Hezbollah will ever stop, even if given everything they demanded of Israel.

RAMALLAH, West Bank - The Palestinians are ready to end all historic claims against Israel once they establish their state in the lands Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast War, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday, addressing a long-standing Israeli demand.

Mahmoud Abbas doesn't speak for the Palestinian people.. and no way is he "President" of any thing !

the Palestinian people democratically elected Hamas to be their voice.. Abbas and his reconstituted PLO are nothing more then Israeli yes men.. Israelis armed and backed Abbas's failed attempt at a coup in Gaza, just cos the Palestinian people would not take back their backing for Hamas not matter how badly the Israelis punished them.

the very idea of selling out the millions of Palestinians in camps around the world by agreeing to Israel's boarders are all the lands they illegally occupied from their ongoing expansion and ethically cleaning of such lands before 1967.. is so offensive.

the Palestinian people from around the world must be brought home to live on the lands the Israelis stole in the on going wars on the Palestinian people

The Israeli military said more than 165 rockets and mortars have been fired at Israel from Gaza so far this year

and not any one of which ever killed any Israeli, man, woman or child... how many Palestinian men, women and children have the Israelis killed over the same time ?

if Israel is to exist then it must exist with in the boarders drawn for it by the UN in 1947 and all those Palestinian driven out from with those boarders must be allowed to return to their homes with in those 1947 boarders.. Jerusalem must be return to an open city not owned by any one but shared, and again the Palestinians driven out by the Israelis must be allowed to return to their home in Jerusalem, not matter where in Jerusalem they lived.... how many of those simple non-negotiable claims has; the Israelis pet; Abbas said he would give up in the name of the Palestinian people.

The_Amber_Spyglass wrote:I can very well believe that the average Palestinian does want a peaceful settlement. What I don't believe is that Hamas and Hezbollah will ever stop, even if given everything they demanded of Israel.

That's what i believe.

cable2 wrote:the Palestinian people democratically elected Hamas to be their voice..

Far be it from me to quote Jesus but "Live by the sword, die by the sword".

cable2 wrote:the very idea of selling out the millions of Palestinians in camps around the world by agreeing to Israel's boarders are all the lands they illegally occupied from their ongoing expansion and ethically cleaning of such lands before 1967.. is so offensive.

You know what else is offensive? Your attempt to portray Hamas as some kind Arab answer to "Amnesty International", "Red Cross" and "Oxfam" all rolled into one, an organisation who have never fired a gun, thrown a bomb or bombarded civilian areas with rockets.

cable2 wrote:and not any one of which ever killed any Israeli, man, woman or child... how many Palestinian men, women and children have the Israelis killed over the same time ?

I guess that makes it alright that Hamas bombard Israeli civilians with these weapons of peace.