"A Palestinian source has told Haaretz that senior Palestinian leaders are concerned by the weak PLO stance in a joint document currently being drafted with Israel, ahead of a peace conference next Tuesday in the U.S.
The sources say that the document, a copy of which has been obtained by Haaretz, omits issues that were once presented as a Palestinian counterweight to Israeli demands, such as combating terror.
The Palestinian portion of the draft does not include a demand to dismantle roadblocks or the West Bank separation fence, and does not mention the decision by the International Court of Justice in The Hague with regard to the barrier.
The PLO also makes no reference to the situation in the Gaza Strip and does not demand the opening of Gaza border crossings in order to ease the lives of the strip's residents.
These omissions of what had been previously accepted opening principles and key Palestinians stances are causing discontent among senior Palestinian leaders, the source said.......
The source said the main flaw in the Palestinian formulations was that there is no paragraph clearly stating that the construction of settlements will be frozen during negotiations......
The document, dated November 17 at the King David Hotel, was drafted by Shalom Turjeman and Tal Becker for Israel and Saeb Erekat and Zeinah Salahi for the Palestinians........
One major point of contention as revealed by the draft is the question of a timetable for ending negotiations. The Palestinians write that the two sides agree to "launch good faith negotiations in order to conclude a treaty within 8 months of the convening of the meeting in Annapolis, but not later than President Bush's term, providing a just solution to all aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." The Israeli position as it appears in the November 17 draft states specifically "no agreement to timeline."......
The Palestinians believe that the Israeli stance will allow Israel to deviate from and alter previous agreements as it sees fit.
Among the terms of reference for negotiations, the Palestinians also include United Nations resolution 194 on the Palestinian right of return.
Israel does not accept these terms of reference......
The section on the road map contains the original draft of the American proposal for the joint document, and consists of five points.
But the Palestinian source said the Americans have withdrawn the five points because of Israel's opposition to some of them. Israel is said to be opposed to the "immediate and parallel" implementation of the road map and the establishment of an American-Palestinian-Israeli committee to monitor implementation. It also opposes the U.S. as "monitor and judge" of each party as it tries to fulfill its obligations.......
The Palestinian source said the framers of the Palestinian draft were adopting "a vague Israeli formulation" in writing: "Israel will make every effort to improve the daily lives and advance the welfare of the Palestinian population pending the full implementation of the treaty," instead of clear-cut demands to remove roadblocks, end travel restrictions and dismantle the separation fence.
In the concluding paragraph an Israeli comment appears "Note: Outstanding question for consideration -- How to address the situation in Gaza in the document?" "
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