Israel vows to boycott NEW Palestinian government

[ranasrule]

Israel vows to boycott Palestinian government

JOSEF FEDERMAN

Associated Press

JERUSALEM ? Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday ruled out peace talks with the Palestinians, saying contacts will be limited to humanitarian issues until the new coalition government explicitly renounces violence and recognizes Israel's right to exist.

Speaking at the weekly meeting of his Cabinet, Mr. Olmert said he would boycott the new government and urged the international community to follow suit. The Cabinet overwhelmingly endorsed Mr. Olmert's position.

The rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah installed their new unity government on Saturday, hoping the alliance will end months of infighting and persuade the international community to lift a year of economic sanctions.

Israeli officials fear the new government will cause the tough international stance against the Palestinians to crumble. Israel and the U.S. on Sunday ruled out a resumption of financial transfers to the Palestinians. But Norway announced it would lift sanctions, and Britain and the U.N. also signalled flexibility.

While the coalition's platform is more moderate than that of the previous Hamas-led government, Mr. Olmert said it fell short of international demands to renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept past peace deals. He also noted its affirmation of the right to ?resistance.?

?This is a government that does not accept the conditions of the international community and sees terror as a legitimate goal,? Mr. Olmert told his Cabinet.

Mr. Olmert said he would maintain contact with the moderate Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, who was elected separately and is not a member of the coalition government. But Mr. Olmert said the discussions would be limited to ?quality of life? issues for Palestinians.

The Cabinet endorsed Mr. Olmert's position 19-2, Israeli radio stations reported.

The new Palestinian administration replaced a year-old government led by Hamas, the Islamic militant group that has killed dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings. It capped months of negotiations ? interrupted by bursts of violence that killed more than 140 Palestinians ? between Hamas and Fatah.

Hamas' rise to power last year provoked Western donor nations to cut off aid to the Palestinians. Israel also has withheld hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes it collects for the Palestinians. The sanctions have devastated the Palestinian economy.

Finance Minister Salam Fayyad warned Saturday that the new government would not be able to function for long unless the boycott is lifted and financial aid is increased.

At Saturday's parliamentary swearing-in ceremony, Palestinian leaders sent mixed messages about their dealings with Israel. But in sum, they appeared to show a softening of Hamas' stance.

Micaela Schweitzer-Bluhm, spokeswoman for the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, said Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas had missed an opportunity to accept the international conditions and make the Palestinians a ?partner for peace.?

But in a break from the Israelis, she said the U.S. would likely maintain contact with non-Hamas members of the government.

The new Palestinian alliance appears to implicitly recognize Israel by calling for a Palestinian state on lands the Israelis captured in 1967, in contrast with Hamas' past calls to eliminate Israel altogether.

It also pledges to ?respect? previous agreements with Israel and authorizes Mr. Abbas to conduct future peace talks. Any future deal would be submitted to a national referendum, suggesting Hamas would not hold veto power.

Mr. Abbas, who has repeatedly condemned violence and called for peace talks with Israel, has said the deal is the best he can get from Hamas and was needed to avert Palestinian civil war.

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?We hope the world community, especially the U.S. and Israel, will deal with this government,? Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a top aide to Mr. Abbas, said Sunday. ?This is the only opportunity for peace and stability so far.?

Presenting the government's program to parliament Saturday, Mr. Haniyeh said the alliance would work ?first and foremost to establish an independent Palestinian state,? with disputed Jerusalem as its capital, on lands Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast War.

He said the Palestinians maintained the right to resist occupation, but would also seek to widen a truce with Israel, now limited to the Gaza Strip.

On Sunday, however, Hamas issued a statement saying the government platform ?is totally different than the program of the Hamas movement.?

?We call on the national unity government to support the choice of resistance against the occupation,? the statement said.

In addition to the struggle for international legitimacy, the Palestinian alliance also is in danger of crumbling quickly over ideological differences, and long-standing enmities between the two factions and their legions of gunmen.

Mr. Abbas on Sunday named a Gaza strongman known for leading a crackdown on Hamas militants a decade ago as his national security adviser, presidential aides said.

The appointment puts Mohammed Dahlan, a top official in Mr. Abbas' Fatah party, in a sensitive position as Palestinian leaders try to reform their myriad and competing security services. Hamas still has rocky relations with Mr. Dahlan.

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proving yet again that Israel has no interest in peace

[digipoi]

Israel vows to boycott Palestinian government

JOSEF FEDERMAN

Associated Press

JERUSALEM ? Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday ruled out peace talks with the Palestinians, saying contacts will be limited to humanitarian issues until the new coalition government explicitly renounces violence and recognizes Israel's right to exist.b>

snipWhile the coalition's platform is more moderate than that of the previous Hamas-led government, Mr. Olmert said it fell short of international demands to renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept past peace deals. He also noted its affirmation of the right to ?resistance.?

?This is a government that does not accept the conditions of the international community and sees terror as a legitimate goal,? Mr. Olmert told his Cabinet.binet.The Cabinet endorsed Mr. Olmert's position 19-2, Israeli radio stations reported.orted.

snip

Mr. Abbas, who has repeatedly condemned violence and called for peace talks with Israel,the deal is the best he can get from Hamas and was needed to avert Palestinian civil war.l war.He said the Palestinians maintained the right to resist occupation, but would also seek to widen a truce with Israel, now limited to the Gaza Strip.

On Sunday, however, Hamas issued a statement saying the government platform ?is totally different than the program of the Hamas movement.?

?We call on the national unity government to support the choice of resistance against the occupation,? the statement said.

In addition to the struggle for international legitimacy, the Palestinian alliance also is in danger of crumbling quickly over ideological differences, and long-standing enmities between the two factions and their legions of gunmen.ons of gunmen.

proving yet again that Israel has no interest in peace

They still do not recognize Israel as a state and they still condone 'resistance' (through terrorism). They setup this government to create a short term feel good situation. It seemingly changes nothing. Get the terrorists out of power, recognize Israel is going nowhere, and then start the peace talks. Otherwise there will never be peace(N)Its easy rana (N) Say no to terrorism.

[zeroday]

It seems the EU has more sense then the US and Israel atm, and also Norway has gone step further:

Alone among Western nations, Norway immediately recognised the new government and announced the lifting of sanctions.

(Y)

Source

[tmahmood]

Probably Israel will not accept any Palestinians deals until it only fevers only to them....

[El Bourricot]

The Palestinians voted their own starvation in.

"Oh, all our aid and money and the reason for us eating is coming from Israel and the US. Let's vote for the party that openly declares war on them and wants to kill all the Israelis."

A certain lack of... common sense... as shown by the new government being very little different from the previous one (kinda starved but still aggressive).

Let's hope that at the next election the Palestinians will see the light and vote for a 2-state guy.

[tmahmood]

^

Why their money and eating had to come from US and Israel in the first place?

[El Bourricot]

^

Why their money and eating had to come from US and Israel in the first place?

Cos they're not self-sustaining. There's no such thing as a "Palestinian" government, as shown by the fact that Israel is collecting taxes for them. There's no "Palestinian Army" (other than the self-defined terrorists).

Consequently, much like most of Africa, Palestine had become dependant on foreign aid.

Well, it's a bit more complex than that. But you get my drift.

[Starcom826]

In otherwords, the Palestinians formed a new government that did not address anything that they was the reason for the reform anyways. Until they recognize Israel's right to exist and refusing to stop the paramilitary organizations operating in their jurisdiction, I don't want my government dealing with them. That's one thing I can say I'm happy Bush is doing. He's refusing to give ground to the Palestinians. Of course, I'm not surprised the EU has sold out again and clearly lacks sense. If they refuse to acknowledge the ground rules for negotiation, then negotiate we shall not.

[ranasrule]

Israel has no right to even ask the Muslim world to accept their right to exist until they atleast go back to the pre 1967 borders

[tmahmood]

^Agreed

Cos they're not self-sustaining. There's no such thing as a "Palestinian" government, as shown by the fact that Israel is collecting taxes for them. There's no "Palestinian Army" (other than the self-defined terrorists).

You are turning away from my question... as usual. Why they needs US/Israel aid in the FIRST PLACE?

[El Bourricot]

^Agreed

You are turning away from my question... as usual. Why they needs US/Israel aid in the FIRST PLACE?

Well, I'm not quite sure what you're asking. Why do they need aid? cos they can't sustain themselves, and feed themselves. Why from the West? Cos the Saudis and other neighbouring countries, whilst supporting Palestine by word, will not give up THEIR money to sustain it, the selfish ****** governments. Leaving us to do the cleaning as ever.

From a libertarian point of view, it's not my problem, and as such I can't see why my taxes are going into feeding the Palestinians, no matter how **** their life currently is. I'm all for stopping all aid to all nations except in cases where it's done for tactical purposes, like to strengthen an ally. Foreign aid is starving Africa anyway.

[ranasrule]

Well, I'm not quite sure what you're asking. Why do they need aid? cos they can't sustain themselves, and feed themselves.

GUESS WHY THEY CANT SUSTAIN THEMSELVES.....just take a wild guess......here is a visual aid to help you come to a sane conclusion

[Starcom826]

Israel has no right to even ask the Muslim world to accept their right to exist until they atleast go back to the pre 1967 borders

Hence the reason why the conflict will continue to go on. And as you demonstrate, it's been turned into an Israel vs. Islam thing. They don't have to ask the Muslim world for anything.

[Toology]

Hence the reason why the conflict will continue to go on. And as you demonstrate, it's been turned into an Israel vs. Islam thing. They don't have to ask the Muslim world for anything.

Oops. Well, at least now we had him admit it.

[ranasrule]

Anyone who pretends that Israel's hatred of the Arabs and Vice-versa has nothing to do with religion is living in la-la land

[Starcom826]

Anyone who pretends that Israel's hatred of the Arabs and Vice-versa has nothing to do with religion is living in la-la land

So says the guy who said "Muslim world" and not Arabs. Too bad you've already tripped up and let it out. Who knows, maybe you're a pan-Arabist too.

[valhalla_rk]

most israelis are not religious, in a contrast to the palestinians.

but when a PA official says that israelis have no connection what so ever to Jerusalem (".' PA's top Jerusalem official: Jews have no religious or political connection to Jerusalem" https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=547233)

this made many people here furious, because even though we are not religious Jerusalem is important to most Israelis.

israel shouldn't recognize that government as long as they don't recognize israel this is that simple, if they don't recognize us we not recognize them.

[digipoi]

In otherwords, the Palestinians formed a new government that did not address anything that they was the reason for the reform anyways. Until they recognize Israel's right to exist and refusing to stop the paramilitary organizations operating in their jurisdiction, I don't want my government dealing with them. That's one thing I can say I'm happy Bush is doing. He's refusing to give ground to the Palestinians. Of course, I'm not surprised the EU has sold out again and clearly lacks sense. If they refuse to acknowledge the ground rules for negotiation, then negotiate we shall not.

I guess we are all on the same page here except as rana says, the Muslim world. And we all come from different walks so its not a question of <insert religion> vs. Muslims.

[Boffa Jones Veteran]

israel shouldn't recognize that government as long as they don't recognize israel this is that simple, if they don't recognize us we not recognize them.

Well said. How could the Palestinians expect any less.