Abbas Slams Israeli Ethnic Cleansing in Jerusalem Rice, EU Criticize Israeli Settlement Expansion 16/03/2008

by **Admin** Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:41 am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday called on the 57 members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), meeting in Dakar, Sengal, to support the Palestinian people and the peace process, ans said Israeli policies were part of an "ethnic cleansing" campaign in Jerusalem, where the U.S. General William Fraser Friday chaired a Palestinian – Israeli meeting to assess both sides’ commitment to their obligations according to the Road Map peace plan.

Abbas appealed to the leaders of the world's largest Muslim organization for support during a "difficult junction" in the Middle East peace process.

He said Arabs in Jerusalem are "isolated" from other Palestinian areas in part because of Israel 's contentious West Bank Apartheid Wall.

"Our people in Jerusalem are under an ethnic cleansing campaign," Abbas said in a speech. "They are suffering from a series of decisions like tax hikes and construction prohibitions," he said, adding the Palestinians "are facing a campaign of annihilation" by the Israeli state.

Moscow Conference Welcomed

Meeting reporters Abbas welcomed the offer to hold a conference on the Middle East in Moscow.

“From the very start, we welcomed the idea to hold an international conference on the Middle East in Moscow in spring,” Abbas told reporters. “We are telling Americans and others that the conference must take place,” he stressed.

According to the Palestinian leader, “this will be a process in the right direction”. “We know that what is initiated by Russia is always to the benefit of the Palestinian people,” he emphasized.

A trip by the Russian foreign minister to the Middle East next week will promote the Middle East conference in Moscow.

Barak Skips Jerusalem Meeting

Back home in Jerusalem, U.S. General William Fraser on Friday chaired a meeting with the Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and senior strategist of the Israeli Ministry of “Defense” Amos Gilad.

Fraser met with both sides Friday at King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Ehud Barak, the Israeli defense minister, was scheduled to attend but at the last minute sent instead top ministry official, Amos Gilad.

The Palestinians' chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, criticized Barak's decision not to attend, saying he should have been there as a gesture of respect.

"It would have been very appropriate for Barak to go," Erekat said. "Maybe Barak couldn't go because he is busy planning more [settlement construction] and more incursions."

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that she was not surprised by Barak's decision not to attend Friday's three-way meeting because she had discussed this with Barak some time ago and knew Israel would be represented by Amos Gilad.

Fraser did not make public the report on compliance with the roadmap obligations before or after the trilateral meeting. But the U.S. envoy is due to present his report to each side and then pass it, including both parties' responses to it, to Condoleezza Rice, who in turn will decide how to proceed further.

Fayyad expressed frustration: "Israel is eroding the very possibility of the two-state solution. A freeze on settlement activity is crucial to preserving the possibility of a Palestinian state. And by freeze, I mean not one more brick."

"Numerous construction projects in many settlements are continuing every day. This is not a freeze by any standard," said Fayyad.

A construction freeze means "not one more brick," Fayyad said, voicing anger at Israel 's failure to abide by its obligation to halt settlement activity in the West Bank.

However the US Consulate in Jerusalem described the talks as "cordial but frank."

"We examined areas where the parties are not meeting their commitments and the reasons why, and explored ways to accelerate the process and make the parties' implementation of their roadmap obligations more effective," the consulate said.

"Our goal remains the fulfillment of the parties' road map obligations," the Consulate said.

Rice Criticizes Both Sides

Rice on Friday said neither Israel nor the Palestinians have done "nearly enough" to meet their obligations under a 2003 peace plan, making it difficult to sustain the U.S. push to end a six-decade conflict.

"I have not hidden the fact that I think that there is a lot of room for improvement on both sides concerning road map obligations," Rice told reporters as she flew to Santiago, her final stop on a two-day trip to Brazil and Chile.

"Frankly, not nearly enough has happened to demonstrate that the Israelis and the Palestinians fully understand ... what is a very clear view to me -- that without following road map obligations and without improvements on the ground, it's very hard to sustain this process," she added.

EU Slam Settlement Expansion

But on Wednesday Rice told U.S. lawmakers that, "The United States considers the expansion of settlement activity to be not consistent with Israeli obligations under the road map and we have made that very clear. I have also said that it is certainly not helpful for the peace process."

Similarly European Union leaders on Friday condemned from Brussels the Israeli plans to build hundreds of new homes in a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, and called on Israel to act swiftly to keep peace efforts alive.

"The EU reiterates that settlement building anywhere in the occupied Palestinian Territories , including East Jerusalem , is illegal under international law," the bloc's presidency said in a statement after a summit of EU leaders.

"Settlement activity prejudges the outcome of final status negotiations and threatens the viability of an agreed two-state solution. The European Council therefore urges Israel to take immediate action in particular on settlements and outposts," the leaders said.

"Despite the difficulties that the process has recently experienced, the European Council welcomes the intention of the parties to resume their negotiations and looks forward to an early meeting of Quartet principals," the statement concluded.