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FLASHPOINTS: Elaine Hagopian on the mideast 'RoadMap' and Sharon's 14 points

by Flashpoints.net
March 27, 2003
Click to hear the audio (33 minutes into the show):
http://www.flashpoints.net/realaudio/fp20030527.ra
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by Israel is the major obstacle to peace
This is definitely worth listening to as Elaine Hagopian (professor Emeritus of Sociology) exposes Sharon's and the Israeli lobby's destruction of the "Road Map" before it even had a chance.

For anyone truly interested in peace in the middle east, this is important to listen to.
by roadbombs to peace
And the Palestinians responed to the roadmap with five suicide bombings.

by AP
JERUSALEM (AP) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is sending a message that he - not Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas - is in charge of peace talks with Israel, countering moves to sideline him and throwing a second Palestinian-Israeli summit into confusion.

The dispute Tuesday underlined the internal Palestinian power struggle between Arafat and Abbas, whom Arafat grudgingly appointed under international pressure, as efforts to move forward on a new peace plan intensified.

Arafat used the date of the second meeting between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as his vehicle. First, Palestinians called off the Wednesday meeting until Arafat had a chance to discuss Israeli proposals with the PLO executive, which he chairs.

After the PLO executive meeting Tuesday evening, Palestinian Cabinet Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said the Abbas-Sharon meeting would take place Wednesday as planned.

Then it was Israel's turn to say no.

"There will be no meeting Wednesday," Sharon aide Raanan Gissin told The Associated Press.

Abbas announced Wednesday that the meeting would "most likely" take place on Thursday.

"But at this point in time it has not been confirmed," Abbas told reporters following a meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio.

Israel Radio reported that the summit would take place Thursday, but officials in Sharon's office said no date had been set and made no further comment.

A member of the PLO executive, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained that the jockeying for position was Arafat's way of telling the United States, Israel and Abbas that Arafat makes the decisions over negotiations with Israel, using the PLO executive to make the point.

Abbas took office April 30 under a new law that gives the PLO executive the right of approval over negotiating steps with Israel. Arafat controls the PLO body, where Abbas is his deputy.

Arafat has been fighting a rear-guard action to limit Abbas' powers, objecting to the makeup of his Cabinet and inserting many of his stalwarts. He retains control of most of the Palestinian security forces and has kept for himself the final word over peace moves.

This counters the Israeli and U.S. intentions to sideline Arafat, charging that he is tainted with terrorism and had led his Palestinian Authority into corruption and inefficiency.

In an interview with the Israeli daily Haaretz, Abbas spoke out in favor of Arafat. "Arafat is the elected president of the Palestinian Authority and should not be isolated," he said, calling on Israel to release Arafat from a virtual house arrest in his West Bank headquarters.

Sharon and Abbas met on May 17, the first Israeli-Palestinian summit meeting since the violence erupted in September 2000. No agreements emerged.

Meanwhile, officials are arranging a three-way summit with President George Bush, Sharon and Abbas early next month, possibly in Jordan.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Tuesday that concrete results could be expected from the summit.

"The President would not bother coming all the way out here to leave without a decision of some kind," Shalom told Israel TV.

Abed Rabbo said he hoped the trilateral summit would result in implementation of the peace plan, called the "road map."

The plan is sponsored by the so-called "Quartet" - the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia. It calls for a halt to nearly 32 months of bloody Palestinian-Israeli violence and leads to a full Palestinian state in 2005.

Israel conditionally accepted the plan on Sunday, a month after the Palestinians approved the formula and insisted that it be implemented unchanged.

On Tuesday, Sharon clarified a comment that caused a stir a day before - referring to Israeli "occupation" in the West Bank for the first time, a term often used by Palestinians and their dovish Israeli backers.

In a speech, Sharon said he was referring to Palestinians in "disputed" territories - an attempt to differentiate between the people and the territory, a way of underlining his policy that Israel must retain strategic parts of the West Bank.

"We are not occupiers," he said. "This is the homeland of the Jewish people."

In interview excerpts published late Tuesday on the newspaper's Web site, Abbas said he would not judge Sharon by his statements. "I know Sharon inside and out," said Abbas, who has met Sharon several times. "I'll believe him only when he implements the road map."

Palestinians claim all of the West Bank and Gaza for a state and demand a total Israeli pullout.

At the United Nations, Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday called Israel's acceptance of the road map "a very encouraging development."

Israel has raised 14 reservations about the plan, including a demand that the United States manage the monitoring of the sides' compliance - but UN sources noted the reservations do not explicitly exclude a role for the other members of the quartet: Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

"It is something we will tackle as we move forward," Annan said of the demand.

In West Bank violence Tuesday, Israeli troops killed a 16-year-old they said was throwing a firebomb. Two children, ages 7 and 9, were critically wounded in clashes with the military, Palestinian hospital officials said.

In Gaza, Palestinians fired salvos of rockets and mortar shells at Jewish settlements and an Israeli town on Tuesday, residents and the military said. No one was hurt.

Two rockets fell in the Israeli town of Sderot, less than half a mile from the Gaza-Israeli fence, and four mortar shells exploded in the Jewish settlement of Neve Dekalim in southern Gaza.
by rOAD MAP
May. 28, 2003
Far-right plan raised to move Palestinian refugees out of West Bank, Gaza
By NINA GILBERT


Tourism Minister Benny Elon of the right-wing National Union Party proposed an alternative peace plan to the US formulated road map on Wednesday, which calls for resettling Palestinian refugees in Arab countries and considering Jordan as Palestine.

Elon unveiled the plan at a news conference in the Knesset, and sent a copy to all 120 Israeli lawmakers. He intends to request that it be discussed in the cabinet.

According to the proposal, Israel and Jordan would reach an agreement on the status of the Palestinians. Elon calls for "exchanging populations," as a means of solving the refugee problem by settling them in Arab countries.

The first step in the plan would be to immediately dissolve the Palestinian Authority, followed by the international recognition of the Kingdom of Jordan as the only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Elon said Palestinians living in Judea, Samaria and Gaza would become citizens of Jordan, although these areas would be effectively annexed by Israel.

Elon said he is convinced Jordan would back the plan, maintaining it would be a "political and economic upgrade" for the kingdom.

He denied that the plan has been formulated as a means of justifying his party's decision to stay in the government following the approval of the road map. "We have left the government in the past when necessary, and we are constantly monitoring the situation," Elon said.

by Angie
And yet again we see such a charade.

Israel does not wish to have peace with Palestine. It simply wishes to drive the Palestinians out of ther emainder of their land. Otherwise, it, too, would have agreed with the so-called Road Map in its entirety as the Palestine Prime Minister has .

Oh, no, not Israel. We want this changed, and that changed, and we're not giving this up, or all the violence must stop.

Astonishing how there is never an admission of the violence Israel, itself, is causing in the Territories.

Sharon, a day ago, actually mentioned the "O" word - occupation for those who know not - and the Likud Right and other fringe parties went ballistic. (Most of us with independent minds are wondering what this war criminal has up his sleeve besides his arm). Whatever it is, he has "apologized" today for using said "occupation". He meant -- oh, go read about it yourself..

Meanwhile, out in the settlements the settlers were shouting we're not moving. Fat lot of good it did the Palestinians who were forced from their homeland in 1948 to yell we're not moving, didn't it?

Oh, well, at least there'll be a great photo op when GWBush arrives for the "summitt".

After all, there is an election next year.
And Israel responded to the roadmap by continuing the occupation.
by ANGEL
If we really want Peace the U.S., European Union, the UN, and Russia have to do something definite now.
Otherwise for one reason or another the Road Map will fail.
Example:
Set the Borders back to 1967...
In return the Refugees have no Right of Return..
The Refugees can be helped to settle somewhere in the new Palestinian State..
The Settlements are now part of Palestine...
If the some 400,000 Israeli Settlers living in Palestine do not like living there they can move to Israel...
If the 1,000,000 or so Palestinians who now live in Israel do not like living in Israel they can move to Palestine...
If 1,000,000 or so Palestinians can live in Israel, then some 400,000 Israeli Settlers can live in Palestine if they choose to stay..
If you take Israel, West Bank and Gaza, West Bank and Gaza is only 22% of the total area in Question, This small amount is not to much to ask for millions of Palestinians who must have their freedom to have a peaceful life.
If this solution was implemented there is a good chance the so called terrorist (really freedom fighters) would stop their fight, if not they would be very foolish because then Israel would have a just cause to fight back and the U.S. would have a just cause to help Israel fight back.
What will definitely not work is:
Israel: We have to confiscate Palestinian land and demolish Palestinian homes because there are suicide bombers???
Palestine: We have to defend ourselves because Israel is slowly confiscating all our land and demolishing our homes. We have no military to defend ourselves and our land. If we do nothing, we will soon have nothing at all???
For Details:
CLICK HERE > http://dc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=64554&group=webcast
by Tom
Resettle the refugees in the New Palestinian state: THey will be just as miserable, overcrowded, desperate people as they are now. Keeping them in the tiny gaza strip will not make their lives better. Resettling them in Jordan (80% of Historic Palestine) is much better for their welfare.

Israelis living in the west bank will have no choice but to leave or else they will be massacred by the "Peaceful" Palestinian citizens.

Plus who is the "Quartet" to dictate what Israel should or should not do. Butt out UN, US, EU, and Russia, handle your own problems first b4 telling Israel and the Palestinians what to do.....
by ANGEL
If the U.S. and Britain can attack Iraq for WMD, then see the following Web Page:
CLICK HERE > http://www.msnbc.com/news/wld/graphics/strategic_israel_dw.htm
If the U.S. and Britain can attack Iraq to free the Iraqi People from Saddam.
Why not to free the Palestinian have been under Occupation and have been oppressed for over 30 years.
And the Atrocities:
CLICK HERE > http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=317370&group=webcast
120 Christian Homes In Jerusalem To Be Demolished By Israeli Military Bulldozers
CLICK HERE > http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=319228&group=webcast
Jewish Land Grab As Separation Wall Is Built Seven Days A Week
Why should the Palestinian People who have lived in the area in Question for hundreds of year (no matter what it was called at that time) go and take land from the people in Jordan, just because Israel wants to confiscate all their land. (We are talking about Millions of people here nat some 400,000 Israeli settlers).
by Anti-Zionist
"Plus who is the "Quartet" to dictate what Israel should or should not do. Butt out UN, US, EU, and Russia, handle your own problems first b4 telling Israel and the Palestinians what to do....."

Get the ADL, AIPAC, JINSA, etc. out of America, and then we can talk about "butting out." Before that, no negotiation.

by Michaelis
C'mon Ariel; we know it's you. Stop hiding behind your mentor.
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