Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that he has already demanded sole control over large sections of the West Bank, including those under total Israeli sovereignty. Abbas said that he demand the Jordan Valley, even though Israelis have made clear that they will not agree to preconditions from the Palestinians.
In an interview with the West Bank newspaper Al Ayam, Abbas said that the talks with Israel will begin as soon as the Arab League and the PLO board approve them. He estimated that the sides would hold proximity talks for up to four months, but was pessimistic about their results.{..}
Abbas also announced that he wants to renew the PA's activity in Jerusalem in the now-closed Orient House and the Palestinian Trade Bureau in the eastern part of the city.
“The purpose is to return, within a few months, to the situation that we had before the Intifada, with gradual and significant additions of territory that will be transferred to full Palestinian control,” he explained.
Abbas said that he will visit the United States this month, in order to continue the peace process. “The Americans understood that establishing a Palestinian state is a strategic American interest. Therefore, they are investing serious efforts” in the proximity talks.
What the old mafioso is doing is actually quite interesting. He's demanding virtually the entire area of Judea and Samaria,(AKA the West Bank) including the removal of the Jewish communities there..roughly half a million people.
Plus, he wants to create a political presence for the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem, something expressly forbidden by both the Oslo Accords and the Road Map.
He's undoubtedly saving other demands for his meeting with President Obama.
Bottom line? This is not a serious position. Abbas likes the status quo, as he's said before many times. He's basically come up with demands no Israeli government would accept just to show that he's not being an obstructionist.
Of course, even if Abbas were to come up with a serious and reasonable offer, there's a question of whom he actually speaks for. This is someone who was elected to a four year term over five years ago, so he certainly doesn't speak for many people in the Palestinian occupied areas of Judea and Samaria...let alone Gaza.
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