Oslo, Norway-AP, April 26, 2006
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that an international conference should be called immediately to jumpstart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and that the new Hamas government would not get in the way.
Speaking in the Norwegian capital, Abbas said he was willing to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians and that an international group should serve as a broker, possibly the so-called "Quartet" of the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.
"I am ready to immediately resume negotiations with the Israeli government," Abbas said. "It is important for me to clarify that the Palestinian legislative elections, which brought Hamas to power, (are) not an obstacle in front of negotiations."
Abbas said his Palestine Liberation Organization still has the mandate to negotiate in the Middle East conflict because it signed all previous agreements with Israel.
Hamas, which ousted Abbas` Fatah Party from power in January parliamentary elections, has refused to renounce violence, recognize the Jewish state or accept past peace agreements.
In response to Abbas` comments, Israel said a formula already exists for resuming peace talks - the long-stalled, internationally backed "road map" peace plan, which envisions the ultimate establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
"Israel believes that the best way to move forward is according to the road map, which is the international community`s accepted plan for the Middle East peace process," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said.
"The road map has been endorsed by Europe, America, Russia and the U.N., and is the way forward. Unfortunately, the new Palestinian leadership under Hamas refuses to accept the road map or even Israel`s right to exist," he added.
An international conference is also envisioned by the road map, but only in the third and final stage of the blueprint for creating a Palestinian state. The road map, launched in 2003, never got off the ground because both Israel and the Palestinians failed to implement their initial obligations.
In calling for the conference, Abbas is trying to establish an alternative to incoming Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert`s plan for unilaterally drawing the final borders between Israel and a Palestinian state by 2010.
Under Olmert`s plan, Israel would withdraw from much of the West Bank, but annex large Jewish settlement blocs and keep most of east Jerusalem, the sector claimed by the Palestinians as a future capital.
U.S. officials reiterated Wednesday that the border must be drawn in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
"Our position is quite simple. The whole final status has to be resolved in negotiations between the parties. No unilateral initiative will contribute to President Bush`s vision of two states living side by side in security," said Stuart Tuttle, the U.S. Embassy spokesman in Tel Aviv.
Also Wednesday, Norway pledged a $20 million aid package for the Palestinians, but said none would go directly to the Hamas government. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said Norway would look for ways to channel the money to the Palestinian people through the United Nations or Norwegian nonprofit organizations.
Since Hamas took power, the United States and European Union have cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in aid. Israel has also suspended monthly transfers of about $55 million in taxes it collects for the Palestinians.
Israel and the Western donors have said they will restore the flow of money only if Hamas renounces violence, recognizes Israel`s right to exist and accepts past peace agreements. Hamas has rejected the demands.
Abbas and his delegation arrived in Oslo on Tuesday evening after a visit to Turkey. During the 24-hour stopover in the Norwegian capital, Abbas was to meet Stoltenberg, Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and other leaders.
