By Dr. Hassan Afif El-Hassan
Special to PalestineChronicle.com
"Conferences, meetings, summits, initiatives and envoys became the life support of the so called peace in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict since 1991. Peace is a big industry in the Middle East today, but not real peace. Ask the frustrated Palestinians standing in lines for hours at the more than 500 checkpoints and roadblocks that Israel operates in the West Bank or the expatriates stranded at the border with Egypt trying to return to their homes in Gaza. Or ask the three generations of refugees living stateless in camps. There is too much talk on confidence building between Abbas and Olmert these days, twice a month at least, but nothing on the main issues, borders, the refugees and Jerusalem. I wonder how they spend the two-hour sessions without discussing the issues! May be how to strangle their common enemies, those Palestinians who do not recognize the Jewish only settlements!......
If there will be a conference, Abbas should not expect it to deliver a settlement the Palestinians could accept. It is time Abbas recognize his power base is not in Tel Aviv or Washington even if they were the return addresses of his paycheck. His power base is the Palestinian people, including those who do not agree on his policy. If Abbas and his lieutenants are serious about peace with justice, they should seek to strengthen their stand among their own people first by having peace with their fellow political opponents rather than attending another futile so called “peace conference”."
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