Five year ceasefire proposal between Israelis and Palestinians
Israeli daily newspaper, Yedioth Ahronouth, reported that Haniyeh's Political Advisor, Ahmad Yousef, has presented a draft ceasefire agreement for five years between the Palestinian government and the Israelis, to some European bodies.
The draft refers to Israeli withdrawal to lines to be agreed upon in the West Bank, and Palestinians to pledge not to launch any attack against Israelis, whether within Israel or in the territories, or anywhere else in the world. Israel will also pledge not to launch any attack against Palestinians. The plan aims to build confidence between the two sides, according to the paper.
Abbas offers ten days for dialogue regarding the unity government and early elections in the case of its failure
High-ranking sources in the President's office have revealed that Abbas has given the Hamas movement a chance of another ten days for dialogue to form the unity government.
London based Al Hayat newspaper quoted the source as saying that Abbas informed a third party that he accepts the resumption of the dialogue with Hamas where it ended, but this will only be for ten days.
Contact between the Fatah and Hamas movements has started through the follow up committee in order to prepare for the resumption of the dialogue.
Head of the committee, Ibrahim Abu An Naja, said, according to the paper, "The committee is studying suggestions to prepare the atmosphere to return to dialogue."
Close sources to the President said that Abbas prepared a decree in which he is going to call for the early elections, the decree will be announced within three weeks in the case of the dialogue failing.
The paper also said that a source from Hamas said, "We are against the early elections as we consider this as a coup against the movement and the government, but if Abbas does insist we might accept the challenge."
Jordan to host a meeting to renew talks regarding Palestinian unity government
A spokesperson for the Palestinian government, Dr Ghazi Hamad, has affirmed that Prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh received a phone call from his Jordanian counterpart, Ma'roof Al-Bakhit, officially inviting him to visit Jordan.
Dr Hamad said that, "Al-Bakhit has called Prime Minister Haniyeh and invited him to visit Jordan and meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to deal with the latest developments in the Palestinian arena. Prime Minister Haniyeh responded positively and arrangements for the visit will follow."
Earlier on Monday, a high-ranking source said that the Jordanian government invited Haniyeh to visit Jordan and take part in a tripartite meeting comprising himself, Abbas and King Abdullah II of Jordan. The meeting will endeavor to bridge the domestic Palestinian gap so as to contain the crisis and investigate the possibility of forming a unity government.
The same source expected the Jordanian mediation to succeed in laying the foundations for an Abbas-Haniyeh agreement to resume the unity dialogue.
Farouq Qaddoumi lambasts President Abbas
The Chief of the PLO political department, Farouq Qaddoumi has said that the decision taken by President Abbas to close the Amman office of the PLO political bureau "is a clumsy and foolish decision", accusing Abbas of not making the decision responsibly.
Speaking to the London based daily Ash Sharq Al Awsat, Qaddoumi said that he will warn the Palestinian Ambassador in Jordan, "as he is one of my staff, not the staff of the president. He is part of the foreign ministry, which is under my supervision as a [PLO] minister of foreign affairs of the Palestinian state.
Qaddoumi condemned the Jordanian stance over the decision, saying that this appointment was originally made under the patronage of the late King Hussein.
Regarding the early elections which Abbas called for, Qaddoumi stated bluntly that there will not be early elections. He also stated that both factions have the money [for the cancelled salary payments], "but they don’t want to pay it to the people".
When asked about the potential prisoner exchange, he said that to "give up" Gil'ad Shalit for nothing is impossible, "as this is a strong card in the Palestinian hands and they can't play it for nothing."
He stated that his visit to Cairo was a routine visit, coming as part of ongoing consultations with the Egyptian leadership.
Yousef Alhelou is a freelance Palestinian journalist based in Gaza. He can be contacted on ydamadan@hotmail.com
Israeli daily newspaper, Yedioth Ahronouth, reported that Haniyeh's Political Advisor, Ahmad Yousef, has presented a draft ceasefire agreement for five years between the Palestinian government and the Israelis, to some European bodies.
The draft refers to Israeli withdrawal to lines to be agreed upon in the West Bank, and Palestinians to pledge not to launch any attack against Israelis, whether within Israel or in the territories, or anywhere else in the world. Israel will also pledge not to launch any attack against Palestinians. The plan aims to build confidence between the two sides, according to the paper.
Abbas offers ten days for dialogue regarding the unity government and early elections in the case of its failure
High-ranking sources in the President's office have revealed that Abbas has given the Hamas movement a chance of another ten days for dialogue to form the unity government.
London based Al Hayat newspaper quoted the source as saying that Abbas informed a third party that he accepts the resumption of the dialogue with Hamas where it ended, but this will only be for ten days.
Contact between the Fatah and Hamas movements has started through the follow up committee in order to prepare for the resumption of the dialogue.
Head of the committee, Ibrahim Abu An Naja, said, according to the paper, "The committee is studying suggestions to prepare the atmosphere to return to dialogue."
Close sources to the President said that Abbas prepared a decree in which he is going to call for the early elections, the decree will be announced within three weeks in the case of the dialogue failing.
The paper also said that a source from Hamas said, "We are against the early elections as we consider this as a coup against the movement and the government, but if Abbas does insist we might accept the challenge."
Jordan to host a meeting to renew talks regarding Palestinian unity government
A spokesperson for the Palestinian government, Dr Ghazi Hamad, has affirmed that Prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh received a phone call from his Jordanian counterpart, Ma'roof Al-Bakhit, officially inviting him to visit Jordan.
Dr Hamad said that, "Al-Bakhit has called Prime Minister Haniyeh and invited him to visit Jordan and meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to deal with the latest developments in the Palestinian arena. Prime Minister Haniyeh responded positively and arrangements for the visit will follow."
Earlier on Monday, a high-ranking source said that the Jordanian government invited Haniyeh to visit Jordan and take part in a tripartite meeting comprising himself, Abbas and King Abdullah II of Jordan. The meeting will endeavor to bridge the domestic Palestinian gap so as to contain the crisis and investigate the possibility of forming a unity government.
The same source expected the Jordanian mediation to succeed in laying the foundations for an Abbas-Haniyeh agreement to resume the unity dialogue.
Farouq Qaddoumi lambasts President Abbas
The Chief of the PLO political department, Farouq Qaddoumi has said that the decision taken by President Abbas to close the Amman office of the PLO political bureau "is a clumsy and foolish decision", accusing Abbas of not making the decision responsibly.
Speaking to the London based daily Ash Sharq Al Awsat, Qaddoumi said that he will warn the Palestinian Ambassador in Jordan, "as he is one of my staff, not the staff of the president. He is part of the foreign ministry, which is under my supervision as a [PLO] minister of foreign affairs of the Palestinian state.
Qaddoumi condemned the Jordanian stance over the decision, saying that this appointment was originally made under the patronage of the late King Hussein.
Regarding the early elections which Abbas called for, Qaddoumi stated bluntly that there will not be early elections. He also stated that both factions have the money [for the cancelled salary payments], "but they don’t want to pay it to the people".
When asked about the potential prisoner exchange, he said that to "give up" Gil'ad Shalit for nothing is impossible, "as this is a strong card in the Palestinian hands and they can't play it for nothing."
He stated that his visit to Cairo was a routine visit, coming as part of ongoing consultations with the Egyptian leadership.
Yousef Alhelou is a freelance Palestinian journalist based in Gaza. He can be contacted on ydamadan@hotmail.com