Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Abbas to UN: Continued settlement constitutes a time bomb


JPOST.COM STAFF
11/30/2010

Israeli envoy to UN responds, "it takes two to tango"; Ban Ki-moon calls settlement building "serious blow to credibility of political process."

In a message read at the UN's headquarters in New York Monday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called West Bank settlements a "time bomb," AFP reported.

As the world body commemorated International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, a message from Abbas said that the deterioration in the peace process "requires bringing a decisive and final end to the vicious Israeli settlement campaign." The PA president continued, saying that continued settlement "constitutes a time bomb that could destroy everything we have accomplished on the road to peace, at any moment," AFP reported.

Responding to what he called "destructive rhetoric," Israeli UN envoy Meron Reuben retorted, "It takes two to tango, Israel cannot reach peace on its own," according to AFP.

Reuben added, "We can only achieve peace with the Palestinians through compromise and direct and bilateral negotiations," according to the report. "We can only move forward through bilateral negotiations that address the concerns of both sides," he said.

For his part, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke candidly on the issue, saying that there was "little optimism" on either side, AFP reported. Addressing the issue of settlements, the secretary-general said that continued building constitutes "a serious blow to the credibility of the political process."

Ban Ki-moon, however, did not only direct his statements at Israel. He made it clear that the Palestinians "must continue to roll out the institutions of statehood, combat terrorist attacks and curb incitement," according to the report.

Comment: What do you do when you don't want to talk or really cannot talk to another person? Do you not look for any statement that you think will resonate with the other person to get you "off the hook'? Do you not use a tried and true justification that others have accepted for a long time? Is there not validation of your point if enough important others support your justification statement? All of this to appear on the moral high ground-fact is you are a weak person unable to tell the truth. Sound familiar Mr. Abbas?

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