By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
Dec 06, 2004
PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas Sunday reiterated his pledge to pursue Yasser Arafat’s goal of seizing control over eastern Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian Arab state.
Throughout the “peace” process, sovereignty over the ancient Jewish capital has been a red line issue for Israel.
Abbas also said that, after a ten-year delay, the PA would finally fulfill its obligations under the “Oslo” agreements.
Meanwhile, the Hamas terrorist organization rejected reports it was prepared to accept a ceasefire and recognize Israel’s right to exist within the Jewish state’s pre-1967 borders.
Target:Jerusalem
“The true fealty to Arafat's memory would be to pursue his path to achieve Palestinian national goals, namely the establishment of a democratic state, with Jerusalem as its capital, that would live in peace and security next to Israel,” Abbas told reporters in Ramallah Sunday after meeting with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.
During the past decade, Arafat vowed on numerous occasions to “march on Jerusalem with one million martyrs” in order to wrest the city from Israeli control.
Israel has declared Jerusalem its “eternal, undivided” capital, and has made sovereignty over the city a red line in its peace negotiations with the “Palestinians.”
When former Prime Minister Ehud Barak put Jerusalem on the trading block in 2000, nearly half a million Israeli Jews converged on the city in a mass demonstration against the change in policy.
While Jerusalem was for thousands of years the capital of Israel, it has never served as the capital of a sovereign Arab entity.
Abbas attempts to justify non-compliance
Abbas went on to say the “Palestinians” fully intended to fulfill their “international” peace obligations.
He then attempted to justify more than 10 years of non-compliance by pointing an accusing finger at Israel.
“When we fulfill our commitments, and we are determined to do so, we expect the Israelis to halt all their acts of aggression against our people,” Abbas said.
In particular, the “Palestinian” leader slammed Israel for building a security fence and holding Palestinian Arabs in prison for murdering and planning to murder Jews.
Abbas said Israel must halt construction of the fence and release all “Palestinian” prisoners in order to revive the peace process.
He did not acknowledge that decades of Palestinian Arab terrorism against Israeli men, women and children is what had led to the need for a fence and the incarcerations.
Also disregarded was the fact Israel has for years been implementing its commitments under the Oslo Accords, specifically the handing over of vast swaths of land and control over 99 percent of the Palestinian Arab population to the PLO.
Hamas says ‘NO’ to Israel’s existence
In related news, the Hamas terrorist organization denied reports that it had tentatively accepted an Abbas-brokered temporary halt to attacks on Israeli Jews.
Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar also said the group had in no way altered its policy of denying Israel’s right to exist.
“The strategy of Hamas is to liberate all the Palestinian lands [sic]. This is a known strategy. We believe in the liberation of all the Palestinian lands [sic] as stipulated by the Koran. In order to achieve this, we must pass through a number of phases,” the Jerusalem Post quoted Zahar as saying.
Recent media reports suggested Hamas had decided to recognize Israel’s existence within the Jewish state’s pre-1967 borders.
Regarding a halt to anti-Jewish terror attacks, Zahar said “not a word was mentioned about the [temporary truce]” during recent talks with Abbas in Gaza City.