Tag Archive for Mahmoud Abbas

| June 27, 2012
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Abbas Lauds Putin in Bethlehem with ‘Dead Man’s Honor’

Putin had to swallow hard when Abbas named a road in Bethlehem in honor of his guest. In Europe, the honor is reserved for the dead.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin had to swallow hard Tuesday when Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas surprised him by naming a road in Bethlehem in honor of his guest. In Europe, as in Israel, the honor is reserved for those who are dead.

Abbas and Putin walk past an honor guard in Bethlehem Tuesday

Abbas and Putin walk past an honor guard in Bethlehem Tuesday - Reuters

Putin, speaking in Jordan after his visits to the Palestinian Authority and Israel, admitted he was “at a bit of a loss” when Abbas named the Bethlehem street after him. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| June 16, 2012
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Abbas: Release Prisoners, then I’ll Meet Netanyahu

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas will demand the release of 123 prisoners before agreeing to meet PM Binyamin Netanyahu, says PLO negotiator.

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

 

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas will demand the release of 123 long-term prisoners before agreeing to meet Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Friday.

Saeb Erekat

Saeb Erekat - Reuters

Speaking to the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency, Erekat said Abbas wants Israel to free 123 prisoners detained before the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993.

Erekat also said Abbas may meet with Israel’s deputy prime minister Shaul Mofaz, but noted that no date has been set for such a meeting. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| June 10, 2012
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‘Fatah has secret bank account in Jordan’

Former Arafat advisor reveals that he has all necessary documents to prove existence of account with $39 million.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

Yasser Arafat’s former financial advisor, Mohammed Rashid, revealed over the weekend that Fatah has a secret bank account in Jordan with $39 million.

Rashid said that the original sum was $44 million, but dropped after the Fatah leadership spent $5 million on the faction’s sixth annual conference.

 

Rashid, who was Arafat’s “moneyman” for many years, said he had all the necessary documents to prove the existence of the bank account.

He said that only PA President Mahmoud Abbas and two of his associates were authorized to deal with the secret account.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| June 10, 2012
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Abbas: Free Terrorists, Allow Weapons Imports – Then We’ll Talk

Abbas unveils new pre-talks demands: weapons, terrorist release, and a full freeze on new Israeli housing in Judea and Samaria.

By Maayana Miskin

 

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has added to his pre-negotiations demands. After telling Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to choose “between peace and settlements,” he has reiterated his demand for a full construction freeze, but has added demands that Israel release terrorists and add arms to the PA police force.

“We recently told them that if Israel accepted to free prisoners and allow us to re-arm the police then we would again sit at the same table as Netanyahu,” Abbas said at a press conference in France. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| June 5, 2012
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PA Glorifies Terrorist ‘Martyrs’ Whose Bodies Were Returned

PA officials glorified the 91 terrorists whose bodies were returned by Israel and referred to them as “shahids” (martyrs).

 

As was expected, the Palestinian Authority glorified the 91 terrorists whose bodies were returned by Israel, as a gesture by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

Mahmoud Abbas

Mahmoud Abbas - Reuters

The Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) research organization, which monitors and translates the PA-based media, has translated and presented on its website several incidents in which the PA glorified the dead terrorists. The PA gave the terrorists a military funeral for heroes, with the participation of Abbas, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and other PA dignitaries. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| May 21, 2012
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Khaled Abu Toameh: ‘How Much Is Mahmoud Abbas Worth?’

Abbas is saying that Rashid stole hundreds of millions of dollars, while Rashid is accusing the president of embezzling “only” $100 million.

 

The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank has just discovered what every Palestinian child knows — that hundreds of millions of dollars had been embezzled during the era of Yasser Arafat.

The “discovery”, however, was not the result of a thorough and long investigation ordered by Palestinian leaders in Ramallah with the hope of restoring public funds.

Instead, it came after one of Arafat’s most trusted aides, Mohammed Rashid, threatened to expose corruption scandals in the Palestinian Authority. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| May 16, 2012
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Abbas Accuses Israel of ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ in Jerusalem

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas uses a ‘Nakba Day’ speech to accuse Israel of carrying out ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas used a ‘Nakba Day’ speech on Tuesday to accuse Israel of carrying out ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem.

Nakba Day, or the day of catastrophe, is what the Arabs call the English date of May 15, when the State of Israel was re-established with a declaration of independence in 1948.

Mahmoud Abbas

Mahmoud Abbas - Reuters

“For decades, Israel has been building settlements in Jerusalem and around it,” Abbas said in a televised speech, according to a report on Israel’s Channel 2 News. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| May 9, 2012
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Abbas says ready to engage with Netanyahu on Middle East peace process

PA president says he will renew unilateral push for recognition of statehood at the UN if no breakthrough occurs in stalled Israel-Palestinian peace process.

By Reuters Tags: Middle East peace Benjamin Netanyahu Shaul MofazMahmoud Abbas

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday he was ready to engage with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a Middle East peace agreement if he proposes “anything promising or positive”.

Abbas, speaking to Reuters after Netanyahu announced a grand coalition that will strengthen the Israeli leader’s hand, said Netanyahu had to realize that Israeli settlements in the West Bank were destroying hopes of peace and must cease.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| April 28, 2012
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Backlash after PA silences Critics

A top Palestinian official has resigned after the government of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas moved to silence Internet sites carrying opposition voices.

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas

Communications minister Mashour Abu Daqa said he was stepping down Thursday night after Abbas’ attorney general ordered several websites critical of the government shut down. Government forces also arrested four journalists and an anti-corruption activist who have censured Abbas and other Palestinian officials on Facebook.

Daqa said the Internet censorship was “bad for the image of the Palestinian Authority in the modern world.”

The websites reportedly supported Abbas rival and former PA official Mahmoud Dahlan, who was a top security official in Abbas’ cabinet until 2007, when Iran-backed Hamas seized control of Gaza. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| April 18, 2012
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Fayyad Pulls Out of Netanyahu Meet

Without explanation, Palestinian Authority PM Salam Fayyad will not join the delegation delivering chairman Abbas’ letter to PM Netanyahu

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad pulled out of a planned meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netayahu on Tuesday.

The move scuttled what was set to be the highest-level talks between Israeli and PA officials in nearly two years.
Fayyad and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were scheduled to meet Tuesday evening in what the PA portrayed as “a last-ditch effort to salvage peace talks” before the US election season.
However, shortly before the meeting was to start, PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said that only he and a senior PA security official, Majed Faraj, would attend.
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Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| April 4, 2012
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Netanyahu to call on Abbas to return to the negotiating table

The Israeli premier will stress willingness to resume talks immediately, in a letter responding to the Palestinian president.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to send a letter to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in which he will call on him to return to the negotiating table promptly and without preconditions.

Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu, AP

Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem - Photo by AP

A senior Israeli official said the letter would be a response to a similar communiqué Abbas plans to relay to Netanyahu in the upcoming days.

The Israeli message will stress, among other diplomatic statements, the Israeli willingness to resume the talks that took place in the Jordanian capital Amman, under the aegis of the Jordanian king and the Quartet of Middle East peacemakers.

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