No real talks happening between PA, Israel - analyst
Press TV has conducted an interview with Alberto Garcia, political analyst from Beirut, about a trilateral meeting between Israel, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the United States on the so-called peace talks that has ended inconclusively.
Press TV: First of all do you see any prospects for these negotiations? Do you think that they are going to go forward?
Garcia: Well actually we have only got eleven days left for the end of the limit time the 29th of April, supposedly was the top of the time limit for these negotiations to reach some sort of agreement.
These negotiations actually started in July last year and we have seen no advance whatsoever. But we have seen some advance just on the Israeli side that they have continued with the building of more and more settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem [al-Quds]. We continue watching how the demolitions [are] still taking place in very, very high numbers. We still see the extreme violence used against prayers in the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem are taking place and I think at this point that all the ingredients sat together for these negotiations to fail.
We see that Abbas just stands watching and hearing what John Kerry brings as the orders are established from Tel Aviv by Benjamin Netanyahu. It is no negotiations whatsoever taking place. It is no two sides really sitting at the same table and negotiating on basic things. I mean the release of these few prisoners that have triggered the ... intention of the Palestinian Authority to join 15 new UN treaties is merely a symbolic act.
But when we see for example Mahmoud Abbas is actually not representative of all Palestinians, most of the Palestinian factions and political groups are totally opposed to these negotiations, we see how he expresses the difficulties and the non-possibility of the right of return of around seven million Palestinians that are outside their homes that actually was one of the main points for negotiation already for decades and basically has been dismissed.
It has been dismissed according to some Palestinian sources that are involved in the negotiations. There are certain points that are actually very, very important like the 85 percent of all settlements that could actually be legalized and could be allowed to continue in the future state of Palestine or the non-control of the air space and not possibility of having its own army to control and defend its own territory actually makes very difficult, if not impossible, to actually reach an agreement.
Abbas is trying, I do not know if hard enough, John Kerry seems to be trying very hard according to former advisor of the UN Secretary of State Frederick Hoff who I interviewed just a week ago and expressed that he is trying very, very hard to find a solution and a negotiation that really becomes successful but actually both parties especially the Israeli side is not really working in that line.