U.S. sets 8-month timetable for Israel-Palestinian peace moves

[bemildred]

Hmmmm, one and a third Friedman Units.

The Bush administration has drawn up an eight-month timetable setting dates for when Israeli and Palestinian leaders would complete steps meant to bolster prospects for peace talks, U.S., Israeli and Palestinian officials said.

The U.S. timeline, the first of its kind presented to both sides, includes specific dates for when Washington envisages Israel letting Palestinian bus and truck convoys travel between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, a demand that has raised some Israeli objections.

Washington, at the same time, has set dates for when Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas would step up deployment of his forces and take specific measures to begin curbing rocket fire by militants, officials who have read the document told Reuters.

The security moves by Abbas could bring a backlash from the armed wing of the ruling Hamas movement and other militant groups behind the rocket attacks, which, according to the U.S. timeline, would come to an end before the end of 2007.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/854986.html

[maddezmom]

1. OT: but it's interesting they can set up timetables for the I/P situation

but not Iraq :eyes:

[meegbear]

2. DING! DING! DING! DING!

[bemildred]

3. Ding ding ding indeed.

:applause:

[Roland99]

4. He demanded timetables of Clinton back in 1999, too.

[Tom Joad]

10. Don't worry, Bush doesn't want this occupation to end either. Not now,

not next year, not ever.

[azurnoir]

5. So is Chimp the King of Israel too?

Talk about delusions of grandeur, Maybe someone should tell the Israelis that he's about to be "deposed" here we hope.

[Canuckistanian]

6. And why should Palestinians trust the Bush regime's "timetables"?

It's about time for new peace broker.

The US clearly sided with Israel during the Lebanon attacks, infuriating ALL Arab populations.

The US is NOT a credible arbitrator any more.

[Arkansas Granny]

7. But, I thought timetables were a bad thing. What gives?

[Igel]

11. Like it matters.

How many timetables I've seen set over the I/P mess, and how few have been met.

On the other hand, both sides screw up with meeting them, so the status quo remains firmly in place. (And in that is the difference between I/P and Iraq. A timetable for Iraq, if violated, would not lead to a continuation of the current state of affairs.)

[eppur_se_muova]

8. Just so it's not an ARTIFICAL timetable.

Cuz that's the important thing. :eyes:

[Tom Joad]

9. After the 8 months, there will be more talk of peace.

No action will be taken to end the occupation.
Not a damn thing.

Except Israel will continue to build up the settlements, destroy homes and farmland.

Only a people's movement in the US will change anything.
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/

[oberliner]

12. After the 8 months, there will be more talk of peace.

No action will be taken to end the rocket attacks.
Not a damn thing.

Except Hamas will continue to acquire weapons, recruit suicide bombers, and threaten Israelis with more "resistance".

Only a people's movement designed to find workable and lasting solutions will change anything.

Two-states, side by side, living in peace and security.

A good starting point is The Geneva Accord, endorsed by many leaders in the progressive community here in the US, such as Congressman Barney Frank, Former President Jimmy Carter, and Rabbi Michael Lerner.

www.geneva-accord.org

[bemildred]

13. U.S. presents Israel, PA with detailed demands

---

The document sets a schedule for removing roadblocks and opening passages in the territories and upgrading the Palestinian forces loyal to PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Israel is also urged to approve requests for weapons, munitions and equipment required by defense forces loyal to Abbas.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to arrive on May 15 to discuss implementing the plan.

Officials in the defense establishment object to several issues in the document, especially the demand to expand the operation of the passages in the Gaza Strip and the removal of many roadblocks in the West Bank.

These officials believe that the benchmarks involve security risks.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/855602.html

[bemildred]

14. PMO: Israel can't commit to some of U.S. demands

A United States timeline for bolstering Israeli-Palestinian talks met its first resistance on Friday when Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said it could not commit to some of the demands, citing security concerns.

The officials raised concerns Israel was being asked to ease restrictions on Palestinian movements without assurances that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has completed his own commitments on security.

While Israel appeared prepared to lift restrictions in the West Bank starting in mid-May, it has serious reservations about other demands, including one that would allow Palestinian bus convoys to travel between Gaza and the West Bank by July 1, officials said.

"Some of the ideas Israel is already implementing, others are already well advanced, and there are some that Israel will not be able to address in the present because of security concerns," an official in Olmert's office said.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/855602.html

[Eugene]

15. U.S. airs Israeli-Palestinian timetable

Source: Associated Press

U.S. airs Israeli-Palestinian timetable

by SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 18 minutes ago

JERUSALEM - The U.S. has proposed a detailed timetable for
easing Palestinian movement and improving Israeli security in
the coming months, part of its more hands-on involvement
and a new push to revive peace talks, officials said Friday.

However, the document, published in the Haaretz daily, was
presented at a time of growing political instability in Israel
and the Palestinian areas, and chances of implementation
seemed dim.

-snip-

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, told his Fatah
Party after a return from Europe that he has made no progress
toward lifting an international embargo of the Palestinian unity
government, which includes the Islamic militant Hamas. Abbas
stopped short of threatening resignation or early elections,
but Fatah officials said a crisis is brewing.

Deadlines outlined in the document, which range from May 1 to
August 1, are only binding if the sides accept it, which they
have not yet done, Haaretz said. In Washington, State
Department spokesman Tom Casey said that the document
was not a formal agreement.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070504/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians

[Eugene]

16. Hamas Rejects U.S. Document on Security

Source: Associated Press

Hamas Rejects U.S. Document on Security

By DIAA HADID, Associated Press Writer

Saturday, May 5, 2007

(05-05) 02:16 PDT GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) --

A U.S. document proposing a detailed May-to-August timeline for
easing Palestinian movement and improving Israeli security was
being reviewed by the Palestinian leadership on Saturday, even as
the top Hamas leader dismissed the plan as a "farce."

-snip-

The Palestinians are asked to halt rocket fire from Gaza at Israel and
prevent weapons smuggling into the coastal strip. Israel is urged to
allow weapons and equipment to reach security forces loyal to
moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

-snip-

On Friday, Hamas' supreme leader, exiled Khaled Mashaal, told a rally
in Syria that the Palestinians should not agree to halt rocket fire in
exchange for an easing of travel restrictions.

"I swear it's a farce ... the equation has now become: dismantling
the checkpoints, in exchange for (giving up) resistance," he said in
comments carried by the Arab satellite TV station Al Jazeera. "This
has become the Palestinian cause."

-snip-

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/05/05/international/i021644D94.DTL

[bemildred]

17. I guess that make it unanimous, nobody likes Bush's "plan". nt