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Palestinians At Odds Over 'Switzerland Accord'
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"The Islamic Jihad sees that this peace proposal discarded the right of return for
Palestinian refugees," Baatch
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Additional
Reporting By Samer Khuwayera, IOL Correspondent
NABLUS,
West Bank, October 13 (IslamOnline.net) – Palestinians received
Monday, October 13, with mixed reaction the unofficial peace treaty
finalized by finalized by members of the Israeli opposition Labor
Party and Palestinian politicians.
While
some Palestinian politicians roundly rejected the peace proposal, the
Palestinian Authority is said to support it.
Khaled
al-Baatch, an Islamic Jihad leader, told IslamOnline.net that the
Palestinians from every stripe rejected the so-called Switzerland
Accord, which made more concessions to the Israeli government.
"The
Islamic Jihad, as far as it is concerned, sees that this peace
proposal discarded the right of return for Palestinian refugees, which
is enshrined in relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions,
particularly resolution 194," Baatch said.
The
accord, which came to light after two years of in-camera meetings
supported by rights activists and Swiss diplomats, had been already
finalized over the weekend during a meeting in Jordan.
Yossi
Beilin, a former Israeli Justice Minister, and Yasser Abed Rabbo, a
former Palestinian Information Minister, were part of the "peace
group," who drafted the alternative peace pact set to be signed
in Switzerland in two weeks' time
"The
great expectations of the Palestinians will be dashed by such a
treaty," Baatch added.
He
said that the Palestinian negotiating team "can only speak for
themselves," asserting that the accord was not obligatory.
Lifeline
Baatch
regarded the unofficial accord as a "lifeline" for the
Israeli left-wing opposition, adding that it would set off a new
internal crisis for the Palestinians, who would better act in unison
in such hard times.
He
said that Israeli Prime minister Ariel Sharon and his right-wing
government slammed
the peace proposal.
He
said the accord is also a lifeline for the entire Zionist entity to
find a way out of the current crisis caused by the Intifada against
the Israeli occupation and the unflinching Palestinian resistance.
Gamil
Magdawali, member of the Popular Front of the Liberation of
Palestine's (PFLP's), said this accord gives up the inalienable rights
of the Palestinian people.
Speaking
to IOL over the phone, he said that the accord stopped well short of
tacking the sprawling Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip.
"I
reckon that they are willing to give up Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem)
as well, and God only Knows what else they gave up," Magdawali
said.
Haim
Oron, a Member of Knesset for the Israeli Meretz Party, revealed on
Monday that the accord contained serious concessions from both sides,
including an acceptance by the Palestinians that Israel was a Jewish
state and that there could be no right of return for Palestinian
refugees.
The
full details of the plan are due to be released when the initiative is
formally adopted in Geneva next month.
"Such
accords only play into the hands of our enemies," Magdawali,
adding that those who signed up to this accord was in no way entitled
to speak on behalf of the Palestinians.
Under
the government of Sharon and his cronies and in light of the incessant
Israeli aggressions on the Palestinians "peace talks is nothing
but a waste of precious time," he added.
Helplessness
For
his part, Tayseer Nasrallah, member of the Palestinian national
council and head of Palestinian Refugees' Rights Committee, said he
can smell "the odor of helplessness and feebleness hangs about
this treaty.
"This
accord paves the way for a lasting and comprehensive peace, but it
skipped over the 'just' version. It is not justice to deny some 3
million Palestinians the right of return," said Nasrallah.
"If
it was ratified, the Palestinians would not be entitled to seek their
usurped rights any more."
He
also ridiculed the accord as "unofficial negotiations"
between Palestinians and Israelis who were in position to "make
decisions."
Nasrallah
further voiced misgivings over the two-year "secret
negotiations."
"They
have given up all these rights in talks with the (Israeli)
left-wingers, so what it would be if they had negotiated with the
right-wingers?" He exclaimed.
Support
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"The Palestinian Authority supports our initiative," Abd Rabbu |
But
Abd Rabbu asserted Monday that the Palestinian Authority
"supports" the alternative peace plan that he and Israeli
doves drafted.
"The
Palestinian Authority supports our initiative," Agence
France-Presse (AFP) quoted Abd Rabbu as saying in Cairo after arriving
with Beilin to discuss the plan with Egyptian officials.
An
Egyptian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that
Beilin and Abd Rabbo met with President Hosni Mubarak's top advisor
Osama al-Baz.
Abd
Rabbo added that the plan is also supported by "the group of
Marwan Barghuti," the influential head of Palestinian President
Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction in the West Bank.
"We
will announce the agreement in two weeks," the former Palestinian
information minister added.
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