by Mahmoud Abu Ghosh
If a Palestinian Authority state is established by the American-back Fatah movement, no Israeli citizen will be allowed to set foot inside, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said this week in a meeting with members of the Arab League. Abbas also stated that he would block any Jewish soldiers from serving with an international force stationed on PA-controlled land.
“I will never allow a single Israeli to live among us on Palestinian land,” he declared.
The Fatah leader, largely viewed by Palestinians as an American puppet, addressed the Arab League during a discussion over the possibility of holding direct negotiations with Israel. Like Abbas, Arab League members agreed to direct talks in theory, but only if a number of “measures and conditions” were met.
“The agreement depends on what will be discussed and the manner in which negotiations are conducted,” said Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin-Jassim bin-Jabor al-Thani.
Abbas has demanded that Israel completely ban all Jewish construction in areas east of the 1949 armistice line, including most of Jerusalem. He further demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu commit to surrendering Israel’s heartland and establishing a PA state with borders based on the armistice line. Until those conditions are met, Abbas said that the PA will not negotiate.
Arab League members, meanwhile, claimed that they have received new support from United States President Barack Obama. According to League head Amr Moussa, a recent letter from Obama to Abbas included “guarantees” although Moussa did not specify the nature of such promises.
