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Experts consider Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations Ambiguous

Politics Materials 9 April 2008 11:44 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan, Baku, 8 April / Trend corr. R.Hafizoglu, R.Abdullayev / Israel considers continuation of the peace negotiations during the meeting between Mahmoud Abbas and Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem, while Palestinians see it as a beginning of new aggression. "The current meeting between Olmert and Abbas has a permanent character and would create some possibilities in giving some momentum to thedialogue," Eddi Shapira, representative of Foreign Ministry of Israel, stated to Trend .

On 7 April, Abbas and Olmert discussed the situation of the Arabian population aggregates in Iudei and Samari. The sides consider it decisive to reach to a peace agreement till the end of 2008, Israeli ZMAN information portal reported.

"The sides held discussions of conceptual issues behind the closed doors and did not want to disclose the issues in press because it may hinder in reaching some success in the negotiation process," Shapira said by a telephone.

According to Shapira, the Islamic Resistance Movement HAMAS adhere to radical extremist position, certainly, is not interested in the success of the negotiations. Shapira said if HAMAS wants to attain peace, then its leaders should stop terrorist actions and rocket bombing directed against Israeli citizens and should recognize the Israeli Government.

Nasir Lehham, director of MEAN in Palestine, believes that the topic of the meeting between Abbas and Olmert in Jerusalem was not the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations.

"At present, there is a possibility of peace between Israel and Palestine," Lehham reported to Trend by a telephone from Ramalli.

According to Lehham, Israel have more important problems than the peace negotiations with Palestine, for example, the possible war with Hezbollah which is supported by Iran. "By commencing the negotiations with Israel, it wants to make sure that if Hezbollah will start a war against them then there will no aggression from the Palestinian side," he said.

Establishment of peace in Palestine for the next five years, according to Lehham, is not real.

"The main problem of Palestine is the formation of a single opinion about the negotiations with Israeli among its own population," he noted. HAMAS has enough supporters among the population and the opinion of its supporters should be partially taken into consideration during the negotiations. "The negotiations with HAMAS should be restored in order to establish peace and stability in the region," he stated.

Isam Mohammad, dean of the Islamic University in Gaza, believes that Israel does not want the existence of Palestinian Government and establishment of peaceful negotiations with the country. "Peace between Palestinians and Zionistic Israeli State is impossible," Mohammad stated to Trend by a telephone from Gaza.

He said that Israel consent to hold peaceful negotiations, is lead by the nose of the world's community and it wants to demonstrate its 'peaceable disposition'. "These negotiations will lead to nothing, as the previous ones did. By agreeing to negotiate, Mahmoud Abbas wants to show himself as the protector of Palestinians. Experience shows that negotiations with Israel usually lead to construction of new Zionist settlements," Mohammad said.

HAMAS Spokesman Sami Abu-Zuhri said that the negotiations between Mahmoud Abbas and Olmert will not be fruitful. "The negotiations between Abbas and Olmert just inform about new crimes against the Palestinian people," Abu-Zuhri said to Trend in a telephone conversation from Gaza on 8 April. "Peace is impossible in the region until Israel vacates Palestine's occupied territory and stops construction of new Jewish settlements," he said. He says that by 'supporting the peace' Abbas is harming his political career.

The correspondent can be contacted at: [email protected]

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