Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Why Palestinians Opposed Abbas's Statehood Bid


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Why Palestinians Opposed Abbas's Statehood Bid

by Khaled Abu Toameh  •  December 31, 2014 at 5:00 am
"We are opposed to return to a path of 'futile' negotiations. Our people have the right to pursue resistance in all forms." — From an appeal by six Palestinian groups to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, against the resolution he submitted to the United Nations.
The widespread opposition among Palestinians to Abbas's statehood bid is a clear sign that many Palestinians remain opposed to any form of concessions to Israel. It is also an indication of fierce opposition among Palestinians to the resumption of peace talks with Israel.
"Hamas will not accept anything less than all the lands that were occupied in 1948." — Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar.
The U.N. Security Council votes on the Palestinian statehood resolution, December 30, 2014. (Image source: UN/Evan Schneider)
It is ironic that while Palestinian Authority [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas worked hard to win the support of the international community for his statehood bid at the UN Security Council, he failed to persuade many Palestinians to back his move.
Palestinians representing various factions, including Abbas's own Fatah faction, publicly came out against the draft resolution that was presented by Jordan at the U.N. earlier this week, and which failed to pass a Security Council vote yesterday.
Their main argument is that the resolution compromises the rights of the Palestinians and includes concessions to Israel that are unacceptable to most Palestinians.
The fierce opposition to the resolution shows that Abbas does not have a mandate from his people to embark on such a move. Abbas's critics accuse him and a number of his advisors of "hijacking" the decision-making process and acting on their own.

Baghdad's Dilemma

by Lawrence A. Franklin  •  December 31, 2014 at 4:00 am
The Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are poorly armed.
When you hear an occasional conversation in Persian, you listen harder, or should.
German military advisors train Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, October 2014. (Image source: Euronews video screenshot)
There are U.S. boots on the ground in Iraq. Most, as in the first months in Afghanistan after 9/11, appear to be CIA ground troops. The airline passengers who get off in Erbil, Kurdistan are all males in good shape and appear to be members of Western intelligence agencies, military advisors or diplomatic personnel.
The unobtrusive but well-guarded U.S. Consulate is a tiny, hole-in-the-wall compound on the main thoroughfare in the town of Ankawa, Erbil Governorate. The CIA and military intelligence compound rests on high ground on a nearby mountain. U.S. and West European military advisors train Kurdish Peshmerga fighters behind walled compounds. The American military advisors seem particularly drawn to the Kurdish volunteers' willingness to fight ISIS. The far thunder of allied bombing raids on ISIS pin-point targets can be heard late on most nights.

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