PALESTINIAN PRESIDENCY DENIES SECRET TALKS WITH ISRAEL
Ramallah, 24 Shafar 1435/27 December 2013 (MINA) – The Palestinian Presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh denied the presence of any secret talks from Palestinian government officials with Israel occupation authority due to the peace talk negotiation.
Abu Rudeineh stressed that “there were no secret talks with the government of Israel.” It disproved some news agencies report that Yitzhak Molcho, the Israeli prime minister’s advisor, has had contacts with a Palestinian businessman in London. Wafa news media reported as quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA).
On December 26, some Israeli media reported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have had secret back-channel talks for several years.
Yediot Acharonot’s Nahum Barnea first reported Thursday that Netanyahu confidant Yitzhak Molcho, an attorney, travels to London to meet with one of Abbas’ trusted confidants. The quiet diplomacy includes exchanging messages and ideas, according to Yediot, an Israeli daily.
Due to the current Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, the back-channel relationship between the two leaders appears to have diminished in importance, the newspaper said.
The bureau of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Thursday denied an Israeli newspaper report that Abbas and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have maintained a secret communications channel for several years.
“This back-channel diplomacy includes an exchange of messages and ideas and is aimed at solving problems troubling both sides,” the report added.
The Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, quoted Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeina as saying there had not been any secret talks between Abbas and Israeli officials.
Netanyahu’s bureau did not comment on the report. The secret channel was of more significance during Netanyahu’s previous term as prime minister, when there were no official negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, the newspaper reported.
Palestinians Reaction on Peace Talks
A new poll reveals that the majority of Palestinians are against the so-called peace talks with the Israeli regime initiated by the United States.
The poll was conducted by Palestinian Center for Public Opinion and covered some 1,000 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip. It was carried out between November 27 and December 10 and its results were released on Monday, Palestine’s Al Ray reported.
According to the survey, 56 percent of the Palestinians believe the current US-brokered talks with Israel have reached a dead end.
The poll also indicates that most of the Palestinians do not see the negotiations lead to peace and expect a fresh confrontation with Tel Aviv.
On November 13, the acting Palestinian Authority chief, Mahmoud Abbas, said his negotiators have resigned from the talks with Israel over Tel Aviv’s ongoing settlement construction.
Palestinian and Israeli negotiators began a fresh round of talks in July. Previous talks between Palestinians and Israel broke down in September 2010 after Tel Aviv refused to freeze its settlement activities in the occupied West Bank.
Since the resumption of the negotiations, Israel has announced plans for building several thousands of new settler units in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.
In October, a large number of Palestinians from different political movements took to the streets of the West Bank city of Ramallah to call on the PA to pull out of the talks with Israel.
The protesters said the talks are useless and Abbas must withdraw from the negotiations.
They also demanded the PA to take Israel to the International Criminal Court for its crimes against the people of Palestine.
The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine has created a major obstacle for the efforts made to establish peace in the Middle East.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Jerusalem in 1967.
The United Nations and most countries regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967 and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbid construction on occupied lands. (T/P04/E1)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
