Palestinian Minister of Prisoner Affairs Ashraf al-Ajarmi slammed the Israeli government in an interview with Ynet on Sunday, accusing it of trying to change the rules of the game and, by doing so, stymie the existing political process between Israelis and Palestinians.
"We will not allow work teams to deal with principles of the political process again. We will only agree to have the teams deal with the implementation of existing principles, within a clear timeline," he said.
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Al-Ajarmi claimed that attempts to change the principles of the talks are just a scam to camouflage the Israeli government's true position, which he said "derives from a platform that is fundamentally opposed to a political process."
Sources in the Palestinian Authority are worried about the position of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
especially given his upcoming meeting with US President Barack Obama on Monday, which they feel will include a subtle attempt by Israel
to sabotage negotiations with the Palestinians under the guise of changing the parameters of talks.
"The truth is, they're interested in killing the process and bolstering a prolonged occupation. They want to ruin everything that has been achieved since the Madrid Convention," al-Ajarmi claimed.
"This government has no real will to reach a permanent solution or peace. The Israelis have apparently falling in love with occupation and want it to continue," he added, citing Netanyahu's agreement to include Yisrael Beiteinu
in the coalition as evidence of this.
The minister emphasized that the PA will not agree to talks without a precondition or timeline, saying, "There was enough time wasted of time under (former Prime Minister Ehud) Olmert's government was enough, which didn't respect or implement the agreements and understandings that had been reached."
According to the minister, one of the most important clauses of these agreements is the cessation of settlement building, which is currently expanding just by natural growth. He accused the Israeli government of trying to use such growth to hide the fact that settlements are expanding.
"Today there are 250,000 settlers and their natural growth with reach a million. What does this mean in practice? Building 3,000 new homes in Maaleh Adumim to house this 'natural growth' is exactly like building a new settlement," he scoffed.
"If the Israelis are interested in the principle of two states, they must reduce the settlements to the barest minimum until there's a permanent agreement," he stated.
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