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WAR REPORT
Israel proposed 'impossible' borders: Palestinians
by Staff Writers
Ramallah, Palestinian Territories (AFP) Jan 29, 2012


Israel laid out a vision for an "impossible" border during exploratory talks with the Palestinians in Amman this month, a Palestinian official told AFP on Sunday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Israeli officials presented principles for their policy on future borders during the final round of the discussions organised by Jordan and the peacemaking Quartet.

They presented a vision that would closely follow the line of Israel's controversial security barrier and leave all of Jerusalem inside Israel, he said.

"They said to us, Jerusalem is out of the question. Large numbers of settlers will stay in the West Bank. They were talking about impossible borders," the official said.

"They didn't specifically mention the wall, but the details can be interpreted as them using the wall for the border," he added.

The Palestinians have long complained that Israel built the barrier with the intention of eventually turning it into an international border.

Israel says the barrier is designed to prevent attacks and cites a decrease in the number of deadly bombings since construction began in 2002.

When the 709-kilometre (435-mile) barrier is complete, 85 percent of it will have been built inside the occupied West Bank.

The official said that the Israeli presentations, made during a final round of talks on January 24 and 25, revealed wide gaps between the two sides.

"All their positions are based on the premise that the settlers and the Palestinians have equal rights to the West Bank," he said.

"The whole Israeli vision is based on this. The territory is not occupied, it's disputed, and both communities have equal claims to it. Of course, this only applies to the West Bank, they don't think we have any claim to Haifa," he added, referring to a town in northern Israel.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators held five rounds of so-called exploratory talks this month, intended to help chart a path back to direct negotiations.

The discussions were supervised by Jordan and the peacemaking Quartet, comprising the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia.

The Quartet called on October 26 for both sides to present comprehensive proposals on territory and security within three months, which the Palestinians say they have done, accusing Israel of failing to do the same.

Israel says it has laid out some of the principles on which its policy on territory and security is based, but that it considers the three-month period to have started with the first round of talks on January 3.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Palestinians of stalling the talks.

"The Palestinians refuse to even discuss with us Israel's security needs," he said at the beginning of his weekly cabinet meeting.

"The signs are not particularly good, but I hope they will come around and that they will continue talks in order to make progress towards negotiations."

The talks were the latest bid to kick-start direct negotiations on hold since late September 2010, when an Israeli partial settlement freeze ended.

The Palestinians say they will not hold talks while Israel builds on land they want for a future state, and they want negotiations on borders to be based on the lines that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War.

The Palestinians are set to hold a series of internal consultations in coming days, and will also seek guidance from the Arab League about whether to continue talks.

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Abbas consults party on Israel talks
Ramallah, Palestinian Territories (AFP) Jan 29, 2012 - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Sunday convened the central committee of his Fatah movement to discuss contacts with Israel after a series of preliminary talks.

Abbas, opening the meeting, said he would consult with the leadership of his party and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), as well as the Arab League Follow-Up Committee, on the next steps for the Palestinians.

After the meeting, Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said the committee had stressed "the consistency of the movement's position that a return to direct negotiations required (from Israel) a halt to settlements and the acceptance of the two-state solution based on the 1967 borders."

The meeting came as the Palestinians sought to evaluate their options after five rounds of "exploratory talks" with the Israelis, intended to help the parties chart a route back to direct negotiations.

After the fifth round of talks, held in Amman and sponsored by Jordan and the peacemaking Quartet, the Palestinians said Israel had "moved not one step to enable a resumption of negotiations."

The Quartet, comprising the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia, called on October 26 for both sides to present comprehensive proposals on territory and security within three months, as a first step towards resuming direct talks on hold since late September 2010.

The Palestinians say they did so, charging Israel failed to reciprocate and pledging to end the talks by the January 26 deadline.

Israel says it considers the three-month period to have begun with the first round of exploratory talks, on January 3, and says the meetings should continue, describing them as having been "better than expected."

Abbas is to convene a meeting of the PLO's executive committee on Monday, and is expected to head to Cairo shortly after for talks with members of the Arab League.

Asked on Sunday about the prospects of renewed peace talks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "The signs are not particularly propitious."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is expected in Jerusalem on Tuesday and in Ramallah on Wednesday to persuade the two sides to move forward.

The European Union's head of diplomacy Catherine Ashton visited the region last week.



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