Fatah Precondition for Peace Talks: Israel must Cede West Jerusalem

According to Jerusalem Post, the moderate Fatah congress under the leadership of the ever moderate and peace loving Mahmoud Abbas has decreed that there will be no peace talks until and unless Israel cedes all of West Jerusalem and evacuates it, as well as East Jerusalem. Given the willingness of the United States to accomodate previous Fatah demands, there is no a priori reason to believe they will not support this one. The report states:

The sixth Fatah General Assembly decreed on Saturday that the return of both east and west Jerusalem to Palestinian control was a "red line" which was nonnegotiable, and would need to be fulfilled before any peace talks with Israel could renew, Israel Radio reported.

According to the report, a document adopted by the Fatah delegates of the assembly declared that Palestinians would "continue to be sacrificed until residents of Jerusalem are free of settlements and settlers." The document went on to state that all of Jerusalem, including the surrounding villages, belonged to the Palestinians, and lands conquered following the Six-Day war shared the same status as those located within the green line.

That is a condition for talks, not a condition for a final settlement. The news was reported by Israel radio and has not been denied by Palestinians. It is not a canard or a satire. The demand is in full accord with United States' diplomatic positions, which do not recognize any part of Jerusalem as being under Israeli sovereignty. It would require evacuation of the entire Israel government complex, the Hebrew University in West Jerusalem, even the Egged Bus station. Until Israel accedes to these demands, it is likely to find itself branded an "obstacle to peace" by major media outlets and EU and US diplomats.

Since the American government is paying for every aspect of the government of the "moderate" Fatah, some of our readers may want to write to President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and your elected representatives and bring this Fatah decree to their attention.

In the past, so-called "pro-Israel" groups like J-Street and Brit Tsedek veShalom have supported efforts to stop Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem. Since the Jewish settleements in West Jerusualem are equally "illegal," presumably such groups may support the latest Palestinian demand as well. There is no reason to leave the newer West Jerusalem campus of the Hebrew University if the older East Jerusalem one is decreed to be an "illegal settlement."

Ami Isseroff

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