PNA denies secret talks with Israel
The Palestine National Authority strongly denied reports that spoke of secret talks having been carried out between Palestinian Legislative Council speaker Mohammed Qurei' (Abu Ala') and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s special advisor Yitzhak Molcho. Abu Ala’ said Thursday that the reports of both an Arab newspaper in Nazareth and of Israeli radio were “full of nonsense.”
Fasl Al Maqal weekly newspaper in Nazareth had claimed in its latest edition on Thursday morning that Abu Ala’ and Molcho were involved in secret talks similar to the secret negotiations the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel held in Oslo which later led to the interim agreement between the two sides. The paper said the talks have embarked on the final status of the Palestinian territories once talks on this issue are finalized between the PNA and Israel.
The prime minister’s office in Israel confirmed the report but said the talks have only focused on details of the further Israeli troop redeployment in the West Bank. Abu Ala’ said that both versions were “entirely inaccurate and full of imaginary reporting.” He said Israel has been lately trying to create the impression that talks are taking place with the PNA “in order to rid itself of some of the diplomatic pressure it faces from the outside world because of its failure to honor the signed agreements with the PLO.”
Some three weeks ago, when PNA President Yasser Arafat and Netanyahu met near Gaza, both had decided that Abu Ala’ and Molcho would liaise between each other with regard to the outstanding issues that are yet to be implemented from the interim agreements. Palestinian sources said that since Israel had not committed itself to further redeploying its troops in the West Bank, most of the reasons for such meetings between Abu Ala’ and Molcho have vanished. “We are against meetings for the sake of meetings. We are after meetings of substance and unfortunately, Israel has made every single effort to keep away from substance,” a senior PNA official said Thursday.
“No wonder the reports came only a few days before Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy leaves to Washington,” said the official who confirmed that so far the PNA delegation heading to the US is not full of hope at all. Levy, he said, has no mandate at all to discuss the further redeployment of the Israeli army in the West Bank and therefore “all those meetings are going to end up being a waste of time.” He argued that reports on secret talks have been tipped off from Netanyahu’s office to help Levy face potential pressure from Washington where the US Administration has reportedly prepared itself to squeeze some concessions out of Levy.