The PLO Executive Committee warned Israel yesterday of the danger of manipulating the political process and the roadmap or of any attempts to impose new conditions under the pretext of security. The Committee stressed in a statement issued at the conclusion of a meeting held yesterday afternoon and headed by President Abbas in Ramallah that Israel has to prove that it is serious in dealing with the negotiations and towards the international conference in Annapolis. The Committee explained: the test on the seriousness of the Israeli position is when we see Israel honoring its commitments and implementing immediately the commitments in the first phase of the roadmap, especially on halting settlement activities, and removing the settlement outposts and opening the Jerusalem institutions and the other commitments that don’t need any negotiations. The PLO announced that it rejects any attempt to change the terms of reference of the peace process, especially the roadmap and the Arab Peace Initiative and the vision of US President Bush on the two state solution, and the need to agree on a timetable for the negotiations process and to launch the final-status negotiations after the conference until reaching to a solution that ends the occupation until the borders of 1967. The Committee demanded handling all issues of the final status according to international and Arab terms of reference, especially on the issues of the refugees, the borders, the security, and the settlements and other issues.

In the meantime, Palestinian informed sources said the Israeli government is setting obstacles in the path of implementing the first phase of the roadmap despite previous Israeli commitments to the US Administration on implementing all its commitments in the roadmap, and this pushed President Abbas to request from US Secretary of State Rice to interfere. The same sources said that the Israeli side is not only setting up obstacles in front of a US formula on both sides on the implementation mechanism of the first phase of the roadmap, but is also setting obstacles in front of the Palestinian side preventing it from implementing its commitments. Palestinian senior officials point to the fact that the Israeli officials keep repeating to the Palestinians that the road to the Palestinian state must pass first through what Israel calls "halt of terrorism" and that Israel believes that even if an agreement is reached, Israel will not implement it until the Palestinians guarantee the security of Israel. The sources said Israel believes that security will lead to peace and not vice versa, and it refuses the parallel implementation of the commitments of both sides in the first phase of the roadmap.

Published at Al Ayyam NewsPaper on November 11, 2007