Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Blames Israel For The Broken Down Middle East Peace Process

Photo: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 67th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, September 27, 2012. REUTERS/Keith Bedford

Palestinians Accuses Israel of Blocking Peace Process -- Voice of America

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas blamed Israel for the broken down Middle East peace process saying Israel is rejecting a two-state solution and is instead trying to force the collapse of the Palestinian Authority.

Mr. Abbas got a long round of applause as he took the podium at the United Nations General Assembly Thursday before criticizing Israel for continuing to build new settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Israel says negotiations with the Palestinians must not come with preconditions. But Mr. Abbas says it's not too late to salvage the peace process.

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More News On Palestinian Abbas

Abbas accuses Israel of 'ethnic cleansing' -- AP
Abbas Repeats Accusation That Israel Is Waging 'Campaign Of Ethnic Cleansing' -- NPR
Abbas: Israel rejects 'two-state solution' -- UPI
President Mahmoud Abbas: Palestine must be realised -- BBC
Mahmoud Abbas to UN: Israeli policies leading to 'new Nakba;' recognize Palestine before it's too late -- Haaretz
Abbas seeks super observer status for Palestinians -- AFP
Abbas says to seek upgrade of Palestinian U.N. status -- Reuters
Palestinian Abbas Pares His Statehood Aspirations at UN -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Palestinian leader seeks upgraded UN status -- but less than full membership -- NBC

Palestinian Unrest Grows As The Economy Worsens

World Bank, IMF See Worsening Palestinian Fiscal Crisis -- Reuters

* Calls on foreign donors to make good on pledges
* Urges Israel to ease West Bank restrictions

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sept 19 (Reuters) - A gathering crisis in the Palestinian economy will worsen unless foreign funding increases and Israel eases long-standing curbs on development, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

"Looking ahead, with persisting restrictions, financing difficulties with aid shortfalls, and stalemate in the peace process, there is a high risk of a continued economic slowdown, a rise in unemployment, and social upheaval," the IMF said.

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More News On The Unrest In the Palestinian Communities

'Serious fiscal crisis' in Palestinian territories -- BBC
World Bank sees Palestinian fiscal crisis worsening -- Washington Post
World Bank: Palestinian fiscal crisis is deepening -- AP
World Bank, IMF warn on Palestinian budget shortfall -- Business Recorder
Financial Strains Said to Threaten Stability of Palestinian Authority -- New York Times
Palestinian protests in West Bank highlight link between economy and security -- Haaretz

Palestinian leadership considers withdrawing from the Oslo accords -- The Guardian
Palestinians may cancel Oslo Accords with Israel, says top negotiator -- Haaretz
Palestinian leadership considers annulling peace deal with Israel -- Xinhuanet

Hamas angered as Palestinian rival arrests supporters -- Reuters

My Comment: I guess the corrupt Palestinian leadership wants more. On a side note .... here is another indication that Egypt is following the Islamic path .... especially when it comes to the Palestinians.

Terrorism Pays

Palestinians holding pictures of their jailed sons in 2011. (photo credit: Issam Rimawi/Flash90)

PA Spends 6% Of Its Budget Paying Palestinians In Israeli Jails, Families Of Suicide Bombers -- Times of Israel

Hamas terrorist who orchestrated 2002 Park Hotel massacre, in which 30 Israelis died, gets $3,000 a month, Channel 2 reports; bomb-maker jailed for 67 killings gets $1,000

Despite the Palestinian Authority’s financial hardships, it spends tens of millions of shekels each month paying salaries to prisoners held in Israeli jails for security offenses and acts of terrorism against Israel — including mass murderers — and last year Prime Minister Salam Fayyad tripled their monthly pay. The PA also pays monthly stipends to the families of suicide bombers.

Payments are made not only to members of Fatah, the political faction of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, but also to those of his bitter Islamist rivals from Hamas, and other factions.

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My Comment: Now we know where some of that aid money goes.

Any Future Palestinian State Will Be Broke And Dependent On Foreign Aid

Amid Palestinian Statehood Push, A Grim World Bank Report On The West Bank, Gaza -- Christian Science Monitor

The World Bank report underscores the extreme dependence of the Palestinian Authority on foreign aid. It is now facing a fiscal crisis due to unmet aid promises.

With the flurry of diplomatic maneuvering over the Palestinian Authority's plan to seek recognition at the UN next week, it's worth remembering the financial obstacles that will face those living in the Palestinian territories, whatever does or does not happen at the UN.

A new World Bank report out this week puts the Palestinian economy – and the PA's near-total dependence on aid – front and center. Palestinian economic problems won't be addressed at all by what happens at the UN, where Palestinians say they will press for full membership as a sovereign state.

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My Comment: But even with this dire financial situation .... the priority among the Palestinian leadership will still be this. Fortunately .... critics of this policy are not staying quiet.

Families Of Palestinian Suicide Bombers Receiving Western Aid Money

Hamas militants: The families of so-called 'martyrs' are given millions by the Palestinian Authority

Families Of Suicide Bombers Given £5m In British Aid Cash -- Daily Mail

British aid cash is being given to the families of suicide bombers, it was claimed last night.

The Palestinian Authority, which gets £86million of British aid a year, has authorised payments of almost £5million to the families of ‘martyrs’.

Another £3million has been given to 5,500 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. The payments, using taxpayers’ cash donated from Britain and the European Union, have been described as ‘ludicrous’ by one Tory MP.

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My Comment: This is ridiculous .... aid money is aid money and should never be given to support those who use it to finance their living while planning and implementing military/terror actions.

Hope In The Israeli - Palestinian Conflict?

Salam Fayyad, Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority

Palestine’s Great Hope: The Emergence Of Salam Fayyad Is The Best Thing To Happen To The Middle East In Ages. -- Good Shit

[this is NOT a pro or anti this or that piece! this is worth knowing about]

Given the deadly confrontation off the coast of Gaza, the recent froideur in U.S.-Israeli relations, Iran’s defiant pursuit of a nuclear weapon, not to mention two ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the broader fight against al-Qaida, it’s perhaps forgivable that the biggest news story to emerge from the Middle East in years has been eclipsed. But no one can accuse the Palestinian prime minister of neglecting to call attention to himself.

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My Comment: In a region that has a long history of war and conflict .... a glimmer of hope. I must confess that while I have been aware of the economic revival in the West Bank, I was not aware of the architect behind it. Kudos to "Good Shit" and Slate for pointing out Salam Fayyad, Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinian President Abbas Suspends Official Accused of Sex Scandal

Last week, Israeli television showed the aide with a woman who was said to have gone to the president's office seeking help. Channel 10

Palestinian President Suspends Aide In Sex Scandal -- New York Times

JERUSALEM — Facing a corruption scandal that has rocked the highest echelons of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, the Palestinian president suspended his chief of staff on Sunday while a committee investigates accusations that the aide sought to trade influence for sex.

A videotape broadcast by an Israeli television station last week shows the chief of staff, Rafiq Husseini, waiting naked in bed for a Palestinian woman who was said to have come to the president’s office seeking government help.

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My Comment: Is there a culture of corruption in the Palestinian Authority .... duhhhh. No wonder Hamas has a strong following.