More proof that Israel DO NOT have a peace-partner.  The PA Authority engange in peace negotiations with Israel PLO and Fatah officials plan to change leaders??

There is no shortage of figures who consider themselves appropriate candidates to serve as deputy president -- including Marwan Barghouti, jailed for five life sentences for his role in terror attacks.

Over the past few months, a succession battle has been quietly raging in the Palestinian Authority [PA].

This behind-the-scenes battle is continuing even as the PA leadership conducts secret peace talks with Israel.

In fact, the U.S.-sponsored peace negotiations have served as a catalyst for increased calls by senior PLO and Fatah officials to start planning for the day after Mahmoud Abbas's departure from the scene.

Like his predecessor Yasser Arafat, the 78-year-old Abbas has been running the PA in an autocratic fashion since his election as president in January 2005.

And like Arafat, Abbas has since managed to keep many of his critics silent by providing them with funds, luxurious offices and vehicles, secretaries, bodyguards and assistants.

Many senior members of the PLO and Fatah, for example, each receive from Abbas tens of thousands of dollars every month to enable them to cover the costs of office rentals and vehicles, as well as salaries for their secretaries and henchmen.

Still, the funds have not been able to buy Abbas 100% quiet.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks on PA TV, Jan. 4, 2013. (Image credit: Palestinian Media Watch)

His controversial decision to resume peace talks with Israel several weeks ago has prompted a number of Palestinians to talk about the need for Abbas to end his autocratic rule.

It is worth noting that Abbas decided to return to the negotiating table with Israel shortly after most members of the PLO Executive Committee voted against the move.

Since then, Abbas has been facing increased calls to appoint a deputy president of the Palestinian Authority as a way of limiting his powers.

At a recent meeting of the Fatah Central Committee, one official, Tawfik Tirawi, did not hesitate to bring up the subject in the presence of Abbas.

Tirawi, a former security commander in the West Bank, proposed that Abbas appoint jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti as deputy president. Barghouti is serving a five life-term prison sentence for his role in terror attacks against Israelis during the second intifada.

Fatah officials said that Abbas did not comment on the idea.

Palestinian sources said that there is no shortage of figures who consider themselves appropriate candidates to serve as deputy president.

They include: Jibril Rajoub, a former security commander, Mohammed Shtayyeh, a former minister and member of the Palestinian negotiating team with Israel, Saeb Erekat, the chief PLO negotiator and Nabil Sha'ath, a former PA foreign minister.

Those who want Abbas to appoint a deputy are actually telling the PA president that they are fed up with his continued refusal to share powers or consult with others about crucial matters such as the peace talks with Israel.

Abbas's critics often complain that he is keeping most PLO and Fatah officials in the dark regarding the ongoing peace talks.

There are only three Palestinians who know what is really happening inside the closed room where the talks are taking place: Abbas, Erekat and Shtayyeh.

Abbas has justified his refusal to brief PLO and Fatah officials on the content of the negotiations by saying that the U.S. Administration has prohibited the Palestinians and Israelis from talking in public about the issue.

But the peace talks with Israel are only one of the things criticized by Abbas's opponents.

Several PLO and Fatah officials have recently been talking about the need for "leadership change." They maintain that it is time for the Palestinians to start thinking of replacing Abbas's old-guard regime with young and fresh leaders.

However, as of now Abbas, whose term in office expired back in January 2009, has shown no sign that he is willing to accept the principle of power-sharing. The battle for succession is therefore likely to intensify in the coming weeks and months, casting a shadow not only over his regime, but also the peace talks with Israel.

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A New Intifada?

Although Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and some of his aides have been telling Israelis, Americans and Europeans that they are opposed to violence and terror attacks against Israel, they continue to incite Palestinians against Israel on an almost daily basis.

A connection seems to exist between the resumption of the peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, and the recent upsurge in violence in the West Bank, which reached its peak with the killing of two Israeli soldiers this week.

The resumption of the U.S.-sponsored negotiations has been accompanied by increased calls from Palestinians to launch a new intifada against Israel.

Calls have been coming not only from Hamas and other extremist groups, but also from Palestinians representing various PLO groups in the West Bank, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's own Fatah faction.

Earlier this week, representatives of several Palestinian groups met in Ramallah and launched a public campaign to stop the negotiations and wage an intifada against Israel.

That the meeting was held a few hundred meters away from Abbas's headquarters is significant. It shows that opposition to the peace talks is not only coming from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, but also from the largely secular and relatively moderate city of Ramallah.

A few days earlier, a group of masked men marched in the city calling for a third intifada against Israel. The Palestinian Authority police did not intervene to stop them because, Palestinians say, they were Abbas loyalists from Fatah.

Calls for a new uprising against Israel are also being issued by senior officials of Fatah in the West Bank. These officials argue that stepping up the "popular resistance" against Israel is possible even as the peace talks continue.

"Popular resistance will increase pressure on the Israeli government and draw the world's attention to the conflict," explained a top Fatah official.

By supporting a new intifada against Israel, Fatah is seeking to send a message to its critics that, despite Abbas's decision to resume the peace talks with Israel, its members have not abandoned the option of violence as a way of extracting concessions from the Israeli government.

That is perhaps why Fatah's armed wing, Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, rushed to claim responsibility for the killing of the two IDF soldiers in Qalqilya and Hebron.

After the killing of the soldier in Hebron by a sniper, Fatah published a photo of one of its sharpshooters with the caption, "When Fatah says, it does. When Fatah promises, it fulfills."

It is worth noting that the Fatah leadership has refrained from distancing itself from the claims of its armed wing.

Moreover, the Palestinian Authority has stopped short of issuing any form of condemnation for the killing of the soldiers.

Instead, the Palestinian Authority itself has been involved in a massive campaign of incitement against Israel.
While some Palestinian Authority officials have come out in public in support of escalating "popular resistance" against Israel, others have been telling Palestinians that "extremist Jewish gangs are storming and contaminating the Aqsa Mosque" -- a reference to routine visits by Jews to the Temple Mount.

These are the kind of statements that prompt young Palestinians to take to the streets and throw stones and petrol bombs at Jewish settlers and IDF soldiers.

Palestinian rioters use an ambulance for cover while hurling rocks in Qalandiya, May 15, 2011. (Image Credit: IDF)

Although Abbas and some of his aides have been telling Israelis, Americans and Europeans that they are opposed to violence and terror attacks against Israel, they continue to incite Palestinians against Israel on a daily basis.

The Palestinian Authority openly supports an escalation of "popular resistance" against Israel, one where unarmed Palestinian civilians are encouraged to initiate confrontations with the IDF and settlers in the 
West Bank.

Some Palestinians have obviously interpreted the call for a "popular resistance" as a green light to launch terror attacks against Israelis.

For now, the Palestinian Authority leadership is doing nothing to calm the situation, even as Hamas is calling on its supporters in the West Bank to launch a new intifada against Israel. Some leaders in Ramallah are convinced that a popular uprising would serve their interests and persuade the Israeli public to support any deal with the Palestinian Authority.


During the second intifada, the Palestinian Authority security forces were severely weakened as armed groups asserted control over Palestinian communities, so ironically, the Palestinian Authority could also fall victim to a new intifada.


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Lapid: Peace talks must lead to 'fair divorce ' from Palestinians

Labor and Meretz offer PM support in attaining a peace treaty.

Yair Lapid Photo: Baz Ratner/Reuters

Finance Minister Yair Lapid expressed cautious optimism about peace talks Saturday, after US Secretary of State John Kerry announced the opening of negotiations. Lapid addressed both the political Left and Right on his Facebook page.

“To the Left we say: We must negotiate the way that is customary in the Middle East – with toughness and suspicion, while trying to ‘sell at a high price’ and not compromise on the essential assets of the State of Israel,” Lapid wrote on Facebook.

The Yesh Atid leader’s message to the Right was “we must separate ourselves from the Palestinians, because a binational state means the end of Zionism. We need to approach this process with courage, based on a two-state solution, because we cannot surrender to despair, to giving up, to whoever says ‘there's nothing we can do.’ There is what to do. There always is.”

“Israel is looking for a fair divorce, not a happy marriage,” Lapid wrote, paraphrasing author Amos Oz.

Lapid added that he analyzed possible scenarios and discussed them with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and concluded that he feels “cautious hope.”

Opposition leader Shelly Yacimovich (Labor) praised the renewed negotiations.

“These talks are the fruits of America’s effort, but they are first and foremost in our interest,” she said. “An important opportunity is open, and we must finally progress toward attaining an agreement between us and the Palestinians.”

Yacimovich said negotiations are not enough, and Israel must do all it can to reach an agreement.

“I hope that Prime Minister Netanyahu will declare clearly that he supports a two-state solution and will make the necessary decisions to ensure the continued fulfillment of the Zionist dream of a Jewish, democratic state,” she added.

Several other Labor MKs sent congratulatory messages, with faction chairman Isaac Herzog saying Kerry’s push for talks is “an impressive achievement” and that the sides should not give up despite their skepticism.

Meanwhile, MK Eitan Cabel warned that “the fact that we need to send congratulations for an action that is in Israel’s interest attests to Netanyahu’s diplomatic failure.”

Environmental Protection Minister Amir Peretz praised the renewal of peace talks, saying that Hatnua is in the government for the precise purpose of moving negotiations forward and of supporting Netanyahu as they take place, in order to ensure a better future.

“This is a great opportunity that cannot be missed, and I call for Labor and the peace camp to support it and strengthen it,” Peretz wrote on Facebook.

Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On called Kerry’s announcement an important development, but said that in order for it to be a true opportunity, “the government must understand that negotiations that are not based on ’67 lines and land swaps are not negotiations.”

“If Netanyahu will understand this and truly act to end the occupation, even if it leads to the departure of coalition partners who are against peace, I promise that Meretz will be there to give him a parliamentary back up,” she wrote on Facebook.

Peace Now plans to open a new campaign in the next few days in support of the talks, which it said provided a moment of truth for Israel. A majority of the Knesset and the Israeli public support the talks and they cannot afford to be silent, Peace Now said.

Jerusalem Post

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Netanyahu in Poland: Stop Negotiating About Negotiations...Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu calls on the Palestinian Authority to come to the negotiating table without delay.

Netanyahu and government ministers in Poland

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that, when it comes to peace talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA), “it’s time to stop negotiating about the negotiations.”

Speaking during inter-governmental consultations in Poland, Netanyahu called on PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who has refused to talk to Israel for nearly three years, to come to the table without preconditions.

"I want peace. To achieve peace, we must negotiate peace,” he said. “We want to see this American effort succeed. Israel is ready for the resumption of direct negotiations for peace without preconditions. I think it is time to stop squabbling over preconditions. I think it's time to stop negotiating about the negotiations. I think we have to start peace talks immediately.”

Netanyahu added, “My goal is to see a historic compromise that ends the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians once and for all. This will entail a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state, with iron clad security arrangements for Israel – recognition, security, demilitarization. I believe that these are the elements for peace. I don't pose them as preconditions for negotiations. I look forward to enter those negotiations without preconditions without delay. I am ready for such a peace. I hope the Palestinians are ready too.”

Earlier Wednesday, Netanyahu backed away from making a joint statement with the Polish government that would have endorsed a Palestinian Authority state.

Netanyahu disavowed the statement, released earlier in the day by the Prime Minister’s Office and which would have expressed strong support for the "two state solution".

An aide explained that the prime minister had not gone over the text, and added, "It was written by junior-level officers in the National Security Council."

Abbas, instead of talking to Israel, has continued to impose preconditions on talks, including a demand that Israel release terrorists who were jailed before 1993, freeze construction in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem and even present a map of the future Palestinian state before any negotiations take place.

He has repeatedly ignored calls by Netanyahu to come to the negotiating table, but has been facing pressure from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to resume peace talks.

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