Awaiting Word on Fayyad -- Netanyahu Meeting; Request for Direct Talks
 |
|
If and when Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu receives a Palestinian delegation headed by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad at his Jerusalem office – perhaps on Tuesday -- it will be the first top-level meeting between the sides in a year and a half. Doubt about the meeting was cast on Tuesday morning when Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Army Radio it was likely to be cancelled – even though it was never officially announced by the Israeli side. Disagreement between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Fayyad was also being reported. On Monday, Abbas used an interview with a Palestinian newspaper to back-step away from suggestions that he would call for disbanding the Palestinian Authority. He told the daily Al Ayyam that while its powers have been compromised by the Israelis, dissolving the PA is “out of the question.” Abbas repeated his lament that reportedly appears in his letter to Netanyahu that will be delivered by Fayyad, that the PA “no longer has any authority, and no meaningful jurisdiction in the political, economic, territorial and security spheres.” Abbas had reportedly included the threat to disband the PA in an earlier draft of the letter but removed it under pressure from the American administration. Netanyahu is preparing his own letter to Abbas in which he asks to resume direct talks without preconditions -- a reference to the Palestinian pre-condition that talks can only continue when Israel slaps a total freeze on building in communities located in areas it acquired in the 1967 war.
Palestinian Authority Official Rejects Iranian “Intervention”
Charging that Tehran’s intention is to provoke regional strife, the secretary general of the Palestinian Authority said on Monday that the PA rejects Iranian intervention in Palestinian issues. The Ma’an news agency quoted Tayyib Abdul-Rahim as criticizing Tehran for creating tension in the Palestinian arena, the Gulf areas and in general across the Arab world. In particular, Abdul-Rahim’s angst was aimed at Iranian support for Hamas in its struggle against Fatah. He was quoted as alleging that Hamas leaders Mahmoud A-Zahar and Ismail Haniyya were given “tens of millions of dollars in their visits to Iran…to freeze reconciliation.” The agency quoted a Hamas spokesman as replying that Fatah failed to implement its obligations under the reconciliation accord and “prefers American money to nationalist agreements.” The agency also reported that details of a leadership shuffle by Hamas in the Gaza Strip remain confidential.
Bethlehem Governor Bans Contact with Israeli Departments
Bethlehem governor Abdul-Fattah Hamayil on Monday ordered an end to all contact with the Israeli department responsible for issuing entry permits and banned Israeli agricultural products from being sold in Bethlehem. Individuals and organizations in need of permits for entry into Israel are being instructed to make the Palestinian liaison office be their point of contact with the Israelis as a measure aimed at building up the Palestinian Authority amid rumors of its demise.
Egypt Complains that UK not Helping Recover Frozen Assets
Egypt is complaining that the British government is not helping sufficiently in its efforts to recover millions of dollars of Egyptian assets frozen during the Mubarak era. The BBC quoted a senior Egyptian judicial official as charging that the U.K. “is not cooperating with us…to repatriate frozen assets,” amounting to about 85 million pounds ($135 million). The money, which belonged to former President Hosni Mubarak, his family members and leading members of his administration, was frozen by European Union member states under the leadership of the U.K. The Egyptians, egged on by media, are blaming the Brits for not doing enough to release the frozen funds to the post-Mubarak government as it struggles with a cash shortage. A government spokesman denied the Egyptian charge to the BBC saying London was cooperating “within the British laws.”
|
| | | |
