PLO wants to link ending Islamic extremism, Israeli occupation
Published today (updated) 18/10/2014 19:43
PLO wants to link ending Islamic extremism, Israeli occupation

RAMALLAH (AFP) -- The PLO called Saturday for a comprehensive strategy
against Islamic extremism while addressing the conflict with Israel,
alluding to controversial remarks by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

The top US diplomat, after his return from a Middle East trip, infuriated
Israeli ministers Thursday when he said the unresolved conflict was fueling
recruitment for the Islamic State group.

"There wasn't a leader I met ... who didn't raise with me spontaneously the
need to try to get peace between Israel and the Palestinians, because it was
a cause of recruitment and of street anger and agitation," he said.

Reacting to that, PLO Secretary General Yasser Abed Rabbo told AFP that
"linking the fight against terrorism and the end of the Israeli occupation
is a strategic position that we support."

The PLO is "ready to work hard with the American administration and all
regional leaders to develop mechanisms to implement different levels of the
strategic direction announced by Kerry," he said, without elaborating.

Israeli Economy Minister Naftali Bennett said that "even when a British
Muslim beheads a British Christian there will always be someone who blames
the Jews."

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf insisted that Kerry "did not make
any linkage between Israel and the growth of ISIL (an alternative acronym
for the Islamic State group), period."

"If we could achieve peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, that would
create a more stable region writ large," she said Friday.

For his part, Abed Rabbo said "those who criticize Kerry want the terrorism
of the Islamic State organization to continue to use it as an excuse to
obstruct a political solution and end to the occupation."

"We hope that these balanced American statements will reflect on the
Palestinian resolution in the (UN) Security Council that will be proposed in
the coming days" to call for the end of Israel's occupation.