Abbas Demands U.S. Guarantee on Borders

Abbas demands a U.S. commitment on borders of a future state before he agrees to talks with Israel. What a joke. Isn't the very purpose of negotiations to determine what the borders will be? Whoever heard of making guarantees about the final outcome BEFORE one negotiates. Clearly abbas has no interest in compromise but in making demands to which he expects the US to pressure Israel into implementing. This isn't a peace process but an extortion process. Anyway the arabs referred to as the "palestinians" have no right to any part of Israel.

JPost:

'US commitment before direct talks'
By ASSOCIATED PRESS AND KHALED ABU TOAMEH
21/07/2010
Abbas won't talk until Palestinian state's borders are guaranteed.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has told his Fatah movement he wants a more specific US commitment on the borders of a future Palestinian state before agreeing to direct talks with Israel.

Abbas says he received assurances from US President Barack Obama, but that they weren't clear enough. He says he expects enormous pressure, but that he will not go "blindly" into negotiations.



Abbas spoke late Tuesday at a closed-door meeting with Fatah leaders. His comments were published in a Palestinian daily and confirmed by his adviser Sabri Saidam.

The PA president is under pressure from the US administration to agree to direct negotiations with Israel as soon as September, when the four-month deadline for the proximity talks expires.

Next week, two more significant bodies – the Fatah Central Committee and the PLO Executive Committee – are scheduled to hold meetings in Ramallah to discuss the status of the peace talks and issues related to internal reforms in Fatah and the PA.

The two bodies are also expected to back Abbas’s position regarding direct negotiations.