I thought this was about the Arabs in Jerusalem. Is there an actual nationality somewhere that he is referring to? The only ones I see complaining are the Arabs being shut out by Arabs, in J&S and Gaza. Arabs have 5 million times as much land as Israel. Perhaps Abbas is confused, thinking that some Arabs are a different "people" than other Arabs.

Those people who are going to try and spin the Abbas demands on East Jerusalem as negotiable should know he has already said "NO" to getting parts of East Jerusalem. He has also never said the right of return is negotiable to small numbers. That's another Western and liberal Jewish spin. It becomes clear that the Palestinians want only to take and Israel owes them no one-sided concessions. What's the point of following a Road Map to nowhere?

Abbas needs to understand that his comments don't add up. So far Palestinians have not lived up to their 2 commitments under Phase 1: * Phase I: End to Palestinian violence; Palestinian political reform; Israeli withdrawal and freeze on settlement expansion; Palestinian elections. And his opposition to "any plan to form a Palestinian state with temporary borders" is against Phase II * Phase II: International Conference to support Palestinian economic recovery and launch a process, leading to establishment of an independent Palestinian state with provisional borders; revival of multilateral engagement on issues including regional water resources, environment, economic development, refugees, and arms control issues; Arab states restore pre-intifada links to Israel (trade offices, etc.). So he will never get to Phase III * Phase III: second international conference; permanent status agreement and end of conflict; agreement on final borders, clarification of the highly controversial question of the fate of Jerusalem, refugees and settlements; Arab state to agree to peace deals with Israel. Now when they stop shooting at Israel and stop trying to blow people and things up and form a government that is empowered to negotiate they will have met their Phase 1 requirements, until this is even possible leave Israel alone.

Abbas is taking himself into a corner. The Road map explicitly calls for temporary borders (Phase 2) and has no provisions about prisoners. So his stance is against the very road map he is insisting Israel follow.

We need to make sure the correct terminology is used. Under UN resolutions and treaty with Jordan the West Bank is Disputed territory not occupied.

There is no partner for peace. The enemy is unrealistic and stubborn in demands that cannot and will not be met. Why not just say "nevermind" you do what you have to do and we will do what we have to do and continue to settle the land. Bite the bullett and take the medicine. There may be some pain to deal with and some roughed up relationships but atleast we are facing the issue head on and recognizing the reality of the thing. How many times can you hear the same old unbending demands?

He can keep saying everything the Arab street wants to hear to protect himself so he doesn't get a bullet in the back of his head, but he is not getting it handed to him on a silver platter. They can demand what they want, but if they wont settle for less than 100%, what is there to talk about?

one is abbas's piece process (Arafat's phased plan) The second is Israel's Peace process where 2 peoples recognize the national aspirations of the other with peace and security for all. there appears to be a very big void that no one is recognizing. Accept the Israeli Right why?

Pharoah obama and clinton - No comments from all the Fatah vituperations? What about you - the UN? Don't shout heavens down when Israel retaliates. Well Bibi and Israel, over to you. Don't fold your hands. Let there be fire for fire. No Leniency. Aerial Sharon was too lenient with Arafat. obama and clinton and UN who are silent now, may shout, but maintain a deaf ear, otherwise you will bring ruin to the nation of Israel. Eretz Isreal is the land of Israel. God will defend Jerusalem.

Abbas is at the negotiating table with Obama. He has stated a clear position recognizing the failures of many failed past negotiations. Where is Israel? It appears that Netanyahu and Lieberman have too many conflicted dependencies to come to the negotiations. It is time for courageous leadership in Israel which cares about an enduring Israel at peace with Palestine and its Arab neighbors.

The only answer Abbas deserves is: "So it's all or nothing? OK, nothing then!!!" You will see how he changes his mind quickly! It's the only language they understand, we must be strong and say NO!!!

Under Bush Abbas would never have been as outspoken & demanding. He has seen the Obama / Clinton regime loves arabs & muslims and picks fights with Israel because they want to say to the arabs look America is on your side here so don't crash anymore planes into NY buildings. Obama has been in such a hurry to demonize Israel over every little thing he can think of and has turned a blind eye to everything the palestinians have been doing so now Abbas thinks he can demand anything and the US will back his demands all the way. Settlements & prisoners seem to be a condition of agreeing to sit down and talk with Israel. Fatah reserves the right to use violence. When Bush was president Abbas was going out of his way to show this moderate man of peace image that Bush wanted to see. Now we are starting to see a return to the old Abbas who went to Tunis with Arafat and studied holocaust denial. He knows Obama won't condemn him if he drops the act so now he is playing hardman and proving that Hamas & Fatah are one in the same its just Fatah know how to say the things foreign politicians & liberal left like to hear whilst Hamas are straight talkers. If Hamas say they will kill you they will walk up to you in the street and shoot you. If Fatah say they will kill you they wait until your alone sleeping and kill you in your sleep but the next morning they smile and play dum so everybody associates them with peace making & straight talking Hamas are associated with terror.

Israel doesn't teach its school-age kids to aspire to martyrdom and jihad. Israel doesn't demonize the Arab population. Israel doesn't name streets after child-slaughtering psychopaths. Israel's leaders don't have 'PhDs' in made-up 'college' programs from Russian diploma-mills. Israel doesn't store rockets and weapons in synagoges and private homes and schools. Gee, who does fit all these descriptions?? Can you guess, dear Vlad? Yes, your PA does all this and more. So I guess you should cut Israel some slack in your opinion.

He's no one's fool and understands what he sees when the Arabs continue to twist and turn to avoid ever having to sign any genuine peace that locks them into a situation that might evolve into real co existence where the average Arab starts to forget his hatred from the years of propagandizing he's endured and sees maybe life could be better ... that sort of thinking would spell the end for the terror industry and the religious fakes that peddle martyrdom ...

Eric if the land is considered disputed then you are admitting that all the land is disputed. Since the UN voted to split the land in '47 into two states, are you saying the Palestinians have every right to demand Haifa, Jaffa, Acre, Lydd, Beersheeba, and every inch back? If the 1949 ceasefire line is not a border, I would assume that the Palestinians have every right to demand all arab cities, including those in what you deem to be in Israel proper whatever that means.

There is no partner to negotitate peace with when they have non-negotiable issues. So I say screw the peace process. Set the boundaries and complete the security wall.

It only took him 20 years to figure out what Reverend Wright was saying.

Bob Dylan; what did he know about Abbas and when did he know it ?

olmert gave you the impression you could eat the whole store because he is a lousy negotiator and because he was looking for a way out of criminal conviction. Here it is; you have to eliminate terror from your side and change your education system. Second, we negotiate with no preconditions. You want conditions, you can go to hell and pack up to jordan.Third, jordan which is 75% of mandate will be brought up for discussion. Fourth, all your people who are originally jewish need to come forward and prove it. Fifth-it is israel that keeps you safe. Behave or israel will no longer protect you. Finally, it was you arabs that stole israeli land and therefore your landclaims or null and void. You have 2 choices-a) move out to jordan b) or be reasonable, sit in negotiations and see what happens.

Under the agreement signed with Jordan and the UN: Disputed, not "Occupied", Territory # The West Bank and Gaza Strip are disputed territories whose status can only be determined through negotiations. Occupied territories are territories captured in war from an established and recognized sovereign. As the West Bank and Gaza Strip were not under the legitimate and recognized sovereignty of any state prior to the Six Day War, they should not be considered occupied territories. This says nothing about the '49 armistice line, the British Mandate line (Jews on the West of the Jordan Arabs on the East), or other lines that were promised and not upheld. Nor is this a reference to the Ottoman lines, the Roman lines, or the Jewish lines before those.

That he stole billions of dollars?

Not to mention that he just denied the core requirements from Palestinians in the Road Map while simultaneously calling for Israel giving *more* than its requirement in same. Why is it that every time the peace process fails, it's Israel that has to start giving and the Palestinians that start taking, all over again, forever? Perhaps the Palestinians should stop demanding all the time, and finalize even *one* of the requirements set before them in previous agreements?

The 1949 ceasefire line is a border, check. Only it was a border with Jordan, not Palestine. Palestine did not exist - it was Egypt in Gaza, Jordan in the West Bank, and Israel in the middle. And when Jordan gave up its claim on the West Bank, and Egypt its claim on Gaza, both regions became lands with no national ownership or definition. That's the whole point, really. You're confusing terminology by treating the 1949 line as a border with "the Arabs", rather than a border with a specific country that had full control of the land at that time. This is both ignorant and arrogant, and ignores the actual facts of the matter.

The Palestine nation is coming but when and how big is the real question. Many in the US has been helping Israel stall for years, PA/Hamas have been stupid and play into their games. The war of words and history mean little in the end. Once borders are set then peace can move forward. Can Israel give up more than 70% of west bank without a civil war, I'm not sure.

or permanent one. There is no money for it, you took it all because you do not want a State, all your talk is intended to steal more money from credulous Europeans and Americans You guys cannot even throw shoes at each other without starting a civil war, much less run an organization or state. This is because external and internal conflicts are the lifeblood of Arb society and conflict in the Arb world is not seen as a problem that requires a solution. Quite simply, any society whose allegiance is to the tribe rather than to the nation, that does not believe in democracy enough to institute it, shuns female intellectual contributions, allows polygamy, insists on patriarchy, institutionalizes religious persecution, ignores family planning, expects endemic corruption, tolerates honor killings, sees no need to vote, and defines knowledge as mastery of the Quran...is deeply pathological. You are no different and deserve no State

The International Court of Justice and the Supreme Court of Israel have both ruled that the territory is under belligerent occupation.