(Cartoon by Khalil Bendib)
For Mahmoud Abbas to keep talking as Israel constructs settlements would mean accepting the theft of Palestinian land.
By Lamis Andoni
Al-Jazeera
".....Signing away Palestinian rights
But, so far, the compromises floated by the Israeli media are in essence worse than the settlers' plans to increase construction.
One such proposal is that Israel adopts a partial freeze in smaller settlements while continuing to build in major settlement blocks.
Abbas, whose legitimacy is already under question in the absence of new elections, cannot afford to accept proposals that effectively amount to legitimising Israeli plans to annex the largest and most populated West Bank settlements.
Judging by the official Israeli rhetoric and the leaked proposals, Netanyahu seems determined to pursue the plan he once advocated to annex at least 40 per cent of the West Bank, in addition to East Jerusalem, as part of his vision for a final solution.
The Israeli side is relying mainly on US support and military force to impose such solutions on the Palestinians, in defiance of international law and UN resolutions.
As international law forbids the confiscation or annexation of lands under occupation, Netanyahu is trying to coerce the Palestinians into forfeiting their rights by signing their consent to such a move.
But while Abbas, and the Palestinian position generally, is weak - due mainly to the uneven power balance and partly to Palestinian divisions - he cannot afford to make such a major concession at any stage, let along prior to entering final status talks......"
By Lamis Andoni
Al-Jazeera
".....Signing away Palestinian rights
But, so far, the compromises floated by the Israeli media are in essence worse than the settlers' plans to increase construction.
One such proposal is that Israel adopts a partial freeze in smaller settlements while continuing to build in major settlement blocks.
Abbas, whose legitimacy is already under question in the absence of new elections, cannot afford to accept proposals that effectively amount to legitimising Israeli plans to annex the largest and most populated West Bank settlements.
Judging by the official Israeli rhetoric and the leaked proposals, Netanyahu seems determined to pursue the plan he once advocated to annex at least 40 per cent of the West Bank, in addition to East Jerusalem, as part of his vision for a final solution.
The Israeli side is relying mainly on US support and military force to impose such solutions on the Palestinians, in defiance of international law and UN resolutions.
As international law forbids the confiscation or annexation of lands under occupation, Netanyahu is trying to coerce the Palestinians into forfeiting their rights by signing their consent to such a move.
But while Abbas, and the Palestinian position generally, is weak - due mainly to the uneven power balance and partly to Palestinian divisions - he cannot afford to make such a major concession at any stage, let along prior to entering final status talks......"
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