Weekly Commentary: PA insists open Israeli hunting season continues - a
challenge that must not be ignored

Dr. Aaron Lerner Date: 29 November 2007

".the PLO renounces the use of terrorism and other acts of violence"
Letter From Yasser Arafat To Prime Minister Rabin: September 9, 1993

"Anyone who did something after the 13th of September [AL: 1993 - Oslo] is
out of the deal. They will not qualify for release."
Minister of Environment Yossi Sarid to IMRA 27 June, 1995

"You are talking about people detained for resistance operations that take
place during the negotiations between Abu Mazen [AL: aka Mahmoud Abbas] and
Mr. Olmert - right? It is the position of the Ministry that all prisoners
should be released during this process. They are engaged in resistance
against the Israeli occupation - not against the peace process."
Mr. Saleh Nazal, Director, Minister's Office -PA Ministry of Detainees and
Ex-Detainees Affairs to IMRA 27 November, 2007- the day of the Annapolis
Conference.

That's Mr. Saleh Nazal, Director, Minister's Office -PA Ministry of
Detainees and Ex-Detainees. Not someone from Hamas.

And he's not taking an independent stand. "Moderate" Mahmoud Abbas
emphasized in his Annapolis address that Israel should stop detaining
Palestinians.

All the rhetoric in the world about wanting peace and opposing terror are
meaningless if at the very same time the so-called "moderate" Palestinians
believe that any Palestinian who manages to murder an Israeli as the
negotiations proceed should enjoy amnesty.

This is not a minor faux pas.

This is a fundamental rejection of the very foundation of the entire "peace
process".

The PA position that it is essentially open-Israeli-hunting-season has
profound ramifications vis-a-vis the efficacy of Palestinian cooperation in
stopping terror.

This cannot and must not be ignored.

The gross failure of Israeli and American officials to address this
challenge will doom the so-called peace process from the outset to yield a
nightmare rather than a dream.

Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
(Mail POB 982 Kfar Sava)
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-7255730
INTERNET ADDRESS: imra@netvision.net.il
Website: http://www.imra.org.il