Abbas: I won't withdraw settlement freeze demand
In interview with Der Spiegel, Palestinian president says he's disappointed Obama 'backed away' from insistence on complete halt to West Bank construction prior to resumption of peace talks. 'World must not drive the Palestinians to the point of total hopelessness,' he warns Ynet.com
| "Naturally, I'm not pleased with the American's change of course. But I will not back down," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said.
In an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel, published Sunday, the Palestinian leader said, "I was initially very optimistic after (US President Barack) Obama won the election. His Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, kept coming to us and promised to urge the Israelis to stop settlement construction completely. Mitchell said that the negotiations would only resume after a moratorium. The American government suddenly backed away from this position in September.
"I still hope that he will revive the peace process. At least he has to convince the Israelis to announce a complete freeze on construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem for a few months," Abbas said.
"It isn't my job to tell the Americans how to deal with Israel. But they have options. They are, after all, the most powerful country in the world. Obama said that a Palestinian state constitutes a vital American interest. The president is under an obligation to apply all of his energy to achieving peace and the vision of a Palestinian state."
Asked by Der Spiegel whether the real reason for the current standstill is that he does not trust Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu," Abbas said, "What he has said so far, at any rate, leads me to question whether he really wants a solution. He has not expressly accepted the two-state solution.
"He's the one who is setting preconditions. He declares Jerusalem as the 'undivided and eternal capital of the State of Israel.' He refuses to discuss the question of Palestinian refugees. And he insists that we accept Israel in advance as a Jewish state," the Palestinian president said of the Israeli premier.
In the interview, Abbas reiterated his demand that Israel stop settlement construction completely and recognize the 1967 borders prior to the resumption of peace talks.
'We were in a race against time'According to him, these demands are not preconditions, but rather "steps that are overdue after the first phase of the international roadmap for peace.
"Unlike Israel, we have met our obligations: We have recognized Israel's right to exist, and we are combating violent Palestinian groups. The Americans, the Europeans and even the Israelis have acknowledged this," he said.
Abbas said the Palestinians negotiated "very seriously" with former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "We exchanged maps showing the locations of the borders. Then he left office. His successor Tzipi Livni lost the subsequent election. "We were in a race against time to reach a solution. But I wasn't the one who thwarted an agreement. Olmert resigned from office shortly before the finish line," he told Der SpiegeAsked whether his decision not to run again for the office of president of the Palestinian Authority constitutes an admission that he will no longer be able to make the Palestinian dream of a sovereign state a reality,Abbas said, "That's absolutely correct. The road to a political solution is blocked. For that reason, I see no purpose in remaining president of the Palestinian Authority. "And I also have a warning for the world: Do not drive the Palestinians to the point of total hopelessness," he said. |
