Abbas – peace within our grasp
Flying in the face of pessimism from his side, the Palestinian President has declared that a peace deal with Israel is graspable.
He said that there is currently an “opportunity” for Israel to close a deal to live at peace with the Palestinians, and also to receive full recognition from 57 Arab and Muslim states.
“We represent the entire nation, and we want to sign a peace agreement, which of course will be brought to a referendum,” he told an Israeli analyst, in an interview first screened at a Tel Aviv security conference on Monday. “But it may be possible that this opportunity for peace might not return.”
He said that he hopes the Israeli nation “understands what the significance is of living in peace in the region between Mauritania and Indonesia in comparison to the
current situation.”
Abbas spoke of his hope for peace. “I’m telling the Israeli people that we’re neighbours, we’ve fought many wars, and I pray to God that the wars between us have stopped,” he said, also commenting that he is ready to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and saying he didn’t rule out giving a Knesset speech or having Netanyahu address the Palestinian parliament.
A few days before the Abbas comments were made public Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also upbeat on peace, saying: “I’m ready for peace. I’m ready for a real, secure, genuine, peace. And I hope President Abbas is ready too.”
Many Israeli commentators have suggested that even if Abbas closed a peace deal he would be unable to implement it, as a large part of the Palestinian population is governed by the militant Hamas, which refuses to negotiate with Israel. But Abbas claimed that he could ensure Hamas’ compliance with a peace deal, saying: “Hamas is not a problem – just leave it to us.”
Abbas’ comments will impress some Israelis, but leave others unconvinced of his genuineness. Though he spoke of consigning war to the past, less than a month previously he celebrated the homecoming of terrorists from Israeli prisons, calling them heroes. And a senior member of his Fatah party Tawfiq Tirawi reportedly told a Lebanese news channel on Sunday that the Palestinians will reject any American framework agreement and that there is “no possibility of a Palestinian state being established on the West Bank and Gaza in the coming 20 years. None at all.” Negotiations, he said, will bring “nothing,” arguing for a return to “resistance in all its forms,” including violence.
NATHAN JEFFAY
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