The Palestinian Authority simply doesn’t seem to understand that Washington and Israel aren’t serious about peace. Case for the prosecution:
Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian Authority official and a chief negotiator of the Annapolis peace talks , told Israel Radio today that:
In December 2008 PA Chairman Abu Mazen submitted to US President George Bush a document citing the positions and proposals that had been presented in the course of the negotiations with Israel. A map was appended to that document.
Erekat said that this document was subsequently turned over to the European Union and to Russia.
Erekat said that Palestinian and Israeli representative had met more than 240 times in the aftermath of the Annapolis conference. He told Israel Radio that representatives of the two sides had been scheduled to meet in Washington with President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in January this year, but Israel decided to go to war a few days before that.
What a shock.
Alternative sources of power and income are required. Case for the prosecution:
Palestinian officials established formal ties on Monday with Venezuela and opened a diplomatic mission in the South American country.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki thanked President Hugo Chavez’s government for its support during the recent Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which prompted the Venezuelan leader to break off relations with Israel.
Venezuelan-Palestinian relations have warmed as tensions have grown between Chavez’s government and Israel.