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- Read the Pakistan Observer on Palestinian demands of Blair – ‘No agreement acceptable without Jerusalem as Palestinian capital’
- Oh, and by the way – Cherie’s sister Lauren stuck in Gaza
Comment at end
2nd September, 2008
BLAIR M.E. MEETING WITH PALESTINIANS’ NEGOTIATOR QUREI
APTN Video reports that today Tony Blair met with Ahmed Qureia, former Palestinian Prime Minister, and presently chief negotiator of the Palestinian negotiating team working towards an agreed settlement in the region. Qureia has long been associated with the search for such a settlement, and was largely instrumental in securing “secret talks” (read more here) which led to the famous 1993 handshake at the White House between Yasser Arafat and Israel’s Yitzhak Rabin — the birth of the peace process.
He, as much as Ehud Olmert and George Bush, are men in a hurry. The line for Tony Blair to hold is that nothing must be rushed in an indecent effort to meet a political date.
(Pictures and report at APTN Video)
Report follows:
Quartet envoy to the Middle East Tony Blair met on Tuesday with the head of the Palestinian negotiation team Ahmed Qureia and discussed the ongoing peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
“I am sure that there continues to be a lot of good will and a lot of determination to try and reach an agreement. At this stage it is very difficult to say, isn’t it? But there is no alternative but carrying on and continuing doing our best to reach an agreement since there is no alternative to an agreement bur conflict”, Blair told reporters in East Jerusalem.
Qureia also reinforced the commitment of all sides involved to reaching the goal set at the Annapolis conference in November 2007.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas have been holding regular meetings designed to move ahead the negotiations they began at the US-sponsored peace conference late last year.
But with little progress apparent, their stated goal of striking a deal by the end of 2008 appears all but unattainable.
“Everybody is doing his best trying to reach an agreement, we from our side are working try to reach an agreement, I think the Israelis are working to reach an agreement, the Americans are pushing and working to help to reach an agreement. Whether it is possible – let’s wait from now up to November to see”, said Qureia.
The Palestinian negotiation team has been meeting on a regular basis with the Israeli team headed by Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni.
Facing numerous corruption probes, the unpopular Olmert announced earlier this summer that he would step down after his party elects a new leader in September. His impending resignation could throw the already faltering negotiations into uncertainty.
China View reports that Qurei stressed to Blair – Jerusalem must be included in settlement.
RAMALLAH, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) — Chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei stressed on Tuesday that there will be no final peace agreement between the Palestinians and Israel that excludes east Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state.
“The Palestinian leadership rejects postponing of excluding any of the permanent status issues,” Qurei told reporters after a meeting in Abu Dis with the Quartet Committee envoy Tony Blair.
Qurei stressed that any final peace agreement reached with Israel “must include all the permanent status issues, mainly Jerusalem, the capital of the Palestinian state, and the Palestinian refugees’ right of return.”
After Annapolis conference held last November in the United States, Israel and the Palestinians agreed to form two negotiation teams to reach an agreement on the six major permanent status issues before the end of the year.
The six permanent status issues are: Jerusalem, the Palestinian refugees, the Jewish settlements in the West Bank, water, borders of the future Palestinian state and the issue of security.
So far, all reports are saying that some progress has been achieved in other issues, mainly security and borders, while there is a pressure exerted on the Palestinians to leave the issues of refugees and Jerusalem for future talks.
“I briefed Blair on the clear Palestinian position that rejects any partial or interim agreement. I also explained to him that we reject the postponement of any of the main issues,” Qurei told reporters at his office in Abu Dis.
Qurei said he also briefed Blair on what he described as “the destructive Israeli measures to the peace process in order to create new realities on the ground, mainly settlements expansion in Jerusalem and around it.”
He reiterated that the Palestinians have other choices if reaching a complete final deal on the permanent status issues failed, “such as a unilateral declaration of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.”
For his part, Blair said that he expressed to Qurei his understanding to the Palestinian position which rejects dividing the major issues that lead to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts.
The former British prime minister expressed readiness of the Quartet including the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union to play an active role in order to reach a political peace agreement that puts an end to a long era of bloody conflict.
A New Strategy for the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (published Sep 2008)
By Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Moshe Yaalon
Former Chief of Staff, Israel Defense Forces
Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Moshe Ya’alon is a former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and is a Distinguished Fellow at the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies at the Shalem Center. This Jerusalem Issue Brief is based on his presentation at the Institute for Contemporary Affairs on June 24, 2008.
OH, AND BY THE WAY
Lauren Booth, Free Gaza activist, and sister-in-law of Tony Blair, is, according to the BBC, “stuck in Gaza”!
Awwww … poor thing.
Blair to the rescue? Wonder if the brother-in-law can pull a few strings?
More here – Backspin says: ” here’s Booth’s chance to show some real solidarity with the Palestinians.”
What does he mean? That she should STAY there.
If only …
Tags: 1. Tony Blair, 2nd September 2008, Ahmed Qureia, chief negotiator of the Palestinian negotiating team, Fellow at the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies a, Free Gaza, lauren booth, Meeting, Middle East - Countries/Issues, middle east peace envoy, Moshe Ya'alon former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defen, Qurei, Ramallah, Tony Blair’s Sister-in-Law, trapped
September 2, 2008 at 4:09 pm |
[...] Original post by keeptonyblairforpm [...]
September 2, 2008 at 9:50 pm |
lauren says that she doesn’t want her brother in law to help her he has more important things to do. or perhaps she doesn’t want to have help from a man she thinks is a war criminal. oh well tony if she doesn’t want help let her stay there and stew.
September 3, 2008 at 2:29 am |
I checked out your link to Backspin. At first I thought it very funny and that Ms Booth was getting her “just desserts”. After reading the serious article there, it seems she is in very bad company. Very bad company indeed. She may yet need help from her Brother-in Law. I hope she gets out soon and will have learned a very important lesson. Do not meddle in affairs you know nothing about. Poor dear.
September 3, 2008 at 11:01 am |
A few interesting comments here at the Elder of Ziyon site.
And at another report, I must say I found the comment that neither the US nor UK embassies were assisting them VERY intriguing.
Here is a link with the biogs of ‘26 of 46′ passengers as at their site. Still haven’t found a comprehensive list of ALL of them.
Despite their expected high profile on all of this, it’s been pretty low key here – even with Mr Blair’s sister-in-law on board. And SHE a British journalist!
I’d better check again through the pages of the stuff I normally ignore these days – The Independent & Guardian – to see if they’re planning a RESCUE MISSION to rescue the rescuers. (I feel another article coming on!)
Now that’s a thought – ship all the anti-Israeli journos out there to assist. They can put their money where their mouths are.
And today there is this – Scots Gaza campaigner shelled by Israelis.
“Activist tells father warning shots fired across bows of sardine fishers”
As for these people declaring “THEIR RIGHTS” – it looks like they have under-researched their ‘rights’. BADLY.
The problem is that Gaza, which is under the control of the Hamas terrorist organization, is not a country.
Fresno Zionism has a fun take on this -“I’m a celebrity get me out of here”. It has a spoof phone call from Lauren to Tony. WHAT!? You mean he let HER have his number? DANGEROUS! As if ….
Didn’t anybody warn the Free Gaza Boat People that it was dangerous there? And WHY?
September 3, 2008 at 12:59 pm |
the daily mirror today claims that lauren booth was shot at when she tried to enter israel. israel says they won’t let anyone enter israel who entered gaza illegally. even the israeli with them was jailed for 1 day.
September 3, 2008 at 4:35 pm |
Yes, Margaret. I have now put together a post on this. This woman is being highly irresponsible, in my humble opinion. She should have known this before she tried to get over the border into Israel.
I hope they keep her for months, though it’s more likely to be days.
September 3, 2008 at 5:35 pm |
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