|
Israel
must choose between peace and settlements: Abbas
Sunday, September 26, 2010 08:00:34 AM,
DPA
|
|
New York:
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Saturday told the United
Nations General Assembly Saturday that Israel "must choose between
peace and the continuation of settlements".
"We affirm our complete readiness to cooperate with the American
efforts for the success of the political process to reach a
comprehensive, just and lasting peace," Abbas said.
Abbas spoke as the clock ticked down on a Sunday deadline in
Israel that could lift building restrictions on Jewish settlers in
Palestinian territory.
If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu allows a current
building freeze to expire, the Palestinians have threatened to
walk out on newly-started peace talks.
But Abbas did not repeat that threat before the United Nations, as
US diplomats intensified their efforts to keep the talks going and
pressured Israel to extend the freeze.
Abbas met for 25 minutes late Friday with US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak and the negotiators from an
Israeli delegation to the UN General Assembly extended their stay
in Washington after a series of meetings with US and Palestinian
officials in New York.
US Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman
told reporters that talks were "intense".
"We are urging Israel to extend the moratorium. And we also are
making clear to the Palestinians that we do not believe that it is
in their interest to walk out of the talks," he said.
"What I sense is that the Israeli and Palestinian delegations are
looking for ways to make sure the talks continue beyond Sunday,"
Feltman said.
Arab countries have apparently joined the effort to make sure the
talks continue. Clinton plans to meet Monday with Syria's Foreign
Minister Wallid Muallem as part of US efforts to try to restart
the Syria-Israel track, Feltman said.
"A comprehensive peace has to include the Syria-Israel track. It's
absolutely essential that Syria be part of this process," Feltman
said.
The US hopes that the Arab summit on October 9 will express
support by Arab countries for Abbas in the negotiating process.
That support was "essential" to the re-start of talks on September
2, and the US hopes that financial support will also be
forthcoming for the Palestinian Authority for economic
development, Feltman said.
Clinton attended a meeting earlier this week with Palestinian
Foreign Minister Salam Fayyad and Arab ministers in New York on
the sidelines of the General Assembly.
|
|
|
|
Home |
Top of the Page |
|
 |
|
|
Comment on this article |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 News Pick |
|
Student
wins copyright protection contest with copied work
Taiwan Thursday revoked the prize in the Protect Copyright Design
Contest after discovering the winner copied the work of a Dutch
designer to win the competition. The Intellectual Property
» |
Rahul's
Ayodhya remarks reflect aspirations of youth: Congress
The Congress said Friday that party general secretary Rahul
Gandhi had reflected the aspirations of a very large section
of the youth by his suggestion that there were more pressing
concerns in the country like education and
» |
|
UN terms
Israeli attack on Gaza flotilla violent and unlawful
An investigative report Wednesday from the UN Human Rights Council
in Geneva said that Israel's military interception of a flotilla
of aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip in May was "clearly
unlawful" and violent. The report from
»
|
Song to
welcome Games visitors unveiled
A song to welcome visitors to the Commonwealth Games 2010 and
celebrate the colourful spirit of the capital was unveiled at the
India Habitat Centre here Thursday evening. The five-minute
musical tribute to the Games
» |
|
Canadian University to honour APJ
Abdul Kalam
A top Canadian university will confer
an honorary doctorate degree on former Indian president A.P.J.
Abdul Kalam next week. The University of Waterloo, in the city of
BlackBerry, will host the renowned space scientist and
» |
A mosque
that briefly turns temple every year
It's unbelievable but true. There
exists a mosque where the idol of Hindu god is kept once every
year for a period of ten days with no communal disturbance ever in
the last three decades. Just when all eyes are focused on Ayodhya
» |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top
Stories |
|
 SC stays
HC verdict in Ayodhya title suit till Sep 28
The Supreme Court Thursday deferred till Sep 28 its ruling on the
pronouncement of the Ayodhya verdict by the Lucknow bench of the
Allahabad High Court. The court
»
I want to
save nation from chaos: Ayodhya petitioner
No
out-of-court solution or delaying Ayodhya verdict: Court
|
|
|
|
Picture of the Day |
|
 |
|
Due to the threats of riot and
terror attacks, the festive season in India
nowadays results in sleepless nights for the security
personnel.
Against this backdrop, the show of communal harmony in Malegaon by Ajantha Mandal cannot be more timely. The Mandal
in a large hoarding portrays the real picture of the Muslim
dominated textile town in North Maharashtra. It shows,
Malegaon is where Azan in a Masjid and Shunkh
in a Mandir go simultaneously. To further make its point,
the Mandal plays communal harmony songs on a cassette-player
in its full sound.
(Photo: ummid.com) |
|
|
|
|
Most
Read |
|
Practice religion, use not it to get political mileage: Prof Pushpatai
Emphasising the need to fight those who are using religion as a
tool to set personal scores and get political mileage, Prof Pushpatai - the professor of Marathi language at Ruia College,
Mumbai advised all Indians to refrain from misusing a religion."Practicing
religion
»
|
|
 'Peepli
Live' is India's entry at Oscars
Aamir Khan's production "Peepli Live" is to be India's official
entry at the Oscars, an official at the Bollywood star's office
said Friday.
"Peepli Live" is former journalist Anusha Rizvi's debut
» |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Quick links