Summary and Analysis

Minister of Information Yasser Abd-Rabbo led off the morning new show as the featured morning interviewee on VOP, underscoring a very pessimistic view of the state of the talks with Israel. Abd-Rabbo said Israel was “clinging” to the American formula laid out by Bill Clinton while the Palestinian Authority was sticking to “international legitimacy”-particularly on two questions: land and refugees.

Abd-Rabbo made it clear that the PA would not accept large territorial changes, and he stressed that even minor modifications would have to be compensated by a trade-off in Israeli territory.

“The Israeli side is clinging to the American ideas as a source authority, and we say we have stipulations and reservations on these ideas, and it is impossible to use them as a source authority,” declared Abd-Rabbo at the end of his interview

  • From VOP’s coverage of PA diplomatic undertakings over the last two weeks, the PA’s overarching strategy emerges:
  • Arafat himself pursues a deepening European and UN involvement in the “peace process,” while using Saudi influence to get Bush Administration pressure on Israel;
  • The PA’s top negotiators-Qreia, Abd-Rabbo, Erikat-try to form a “paper trail” in Taba that will serve as the basis for talks with the next Israeli government;
  • The Palestinian Authority supports efforts to end the isolation of Iraq and for increased Arab and Islamic unity (Egypt-Iraq, Syria-Iran, Syria-Iraq, PA-Iraq, Iraq-Kuwait-Saudi, PA-Saudi, Morocco-Libya) that can be useful in pressuring Israel.

Quote of the Day

“We asserted what we said in Camp David-that there was no escaping a withdrawal to the June 4 1967 borders, and any changes or modifications-light or small-have to be mutual and have to be based on the exchange of land of equal value and kind.”
(Yasser Abd-Rabbo, describing PA negotiating stance during interview January 23, 7:15 a.m., VOP)

Quotes from interview with Yasser Abd-Rabbo (7:10-7:20 a.m.)

Question: “What has so far been accomplished in these talks?”

Answer: “It is difficult to speak about ‘accomplishments.’ We have started and continued talks, but the concentration of the talks is in their complete details. I couldn’t speak of incidents of progress up to this moment, but the atmosphere is really serious. The working committees have been formed, and the committees set up yesterday are: land, refugees, the Jerusalem committee and the security committee. We will probably set up additional committees-the water committee because the subject of water is important for life. But it all depends on the most important committee, and that’s the first committee, the committee for land, for Jerusalem, for refugees. (Note: he spoke of one committee and then named three)

Question: “In what you saw in the maps, in the land committee, did you notice anything new?”

Answer: “There are some light, new things, but not fundamental or substantive. Therefore we will not accept what has been offered us, and we don’t consider it to be a positive transformation or a substantive change in the Israeli position. We will continue the discussion on these subjects today.”

Question: “There is talk of an Israeli desire to hold on to six percent of the (West) Bank and some movement on the refugees. Could you clarify these matters?”

Answer: “We will NOT accept the idea (unclear word), and we did NOT accept six percent or the like. We asserted what we said in Camp David-that there was no escaping a withdrawal to the June 4 1967 borders, and any changes or modifications-light or small-have to be mutual and have to be based on the exchange of land of equal value and kind. That is our stance, and we cling to our stance. And, naturally, in this, we refer to (Israeli) colonialization (also Arabic: settlement) and to the settlements. And we will not accept the settlements being included in regional belts taken from Palestinian land or being used at the expense of Palestinian land to partition or to section off that land..These are things we will NOT accept, and we also will NOT accept Palestinian land being included in what are called settlement belts. I do NOT wish to go into details in these subjects (in this interview).but we will have to get into the details of these subjects (in the talks) because these are the main subjects-a withdrawal to the June 4 borders and we did NOT get into the details of every individual settlement in every individual region.

Question: “We have heard all kinds of things on the question of Jerusalem. Are there any new initiatives?”

Answer: “We have NOT heard any of these proposals, absolutely. NOTHING has been presented to us. And it is possible that it is being floated in the media.for the sake of Israeli public opinion. But we have absolutely not heard proposals from this direction. And we consider Jerusalem to be a part of the question of land, and what applies to the whole (West) Bank applies as such to Jerusalem, that is, the borders of June 4.”

Question: “Could there be a sketching out of what is agreed? Are you working on that now?”

Answer: “No sir. I do NOT want to get into sketching out things until we agree on all matters. And we have to agree on all matters, because I we do not, then we have not agreed on anything”

Tuesday Morning Round-up Headlines

  • Israeli girl accuses the extremist leader of the Israeli Right, Ariel Sharon, of hurting her father and other fathers in the Lebanon war;
  • Israeli war crimes continue;
  • His Excellency President Arafat heads to Saudi Arabia today.”

Tuesday Morning Headlines, 7 a.m. / 8 a.m. / 9 a.m.

  • “His Excellency President Yasser Arafat is heading toward the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia today for discussions with the Saudi monarch King Fahd ibn-Abd-al-‘Aziz and other senior Saudi officials;
  • Mr. Nabil Abu-Irdeineh, President Arafat’s advisor, announced that his excellency (Arafat) would be discussing the most prominent recent developments overtaking our people in relation to the continuation of Israeli aggression and siege;
  • Mr. Yasser Abd-Rabbo, a member of our delegation to the talks in Taba said it would NOT be possible to speak of progress in the negotiations up to this instant, noting that the talks would resume today in four sub-committees: land, refugees, Jerusalem and security;
  • And Abd-Rabbo asserted that our delegation affirmed during the session yesterday that-as in Camp David-there is NO escaping an Israeli withdrawal to the June 4, 1967 lines, and stressing that any change or modification-light or partial– in those borders would require an exchange of territory.;
  • The Foreign Minister of Sweden Anna Lind announced that the European Union supports the talks proceeding in Taba between the Palestinian and Israeli sides;
  • Israeli occupation forces open tank fire as well as heavy artillery and light arms in the Mughraqa area in southwest Gaza;
  • And in Salfit last night there were violent confrontations between citizens on one side and the occupation forces and settlers on the other;
  • Minister for Prisoners’ Affairs Hisham Abd-al-Razik said he expects the families of prisoners will be allowed to visit their relatives in occupation jails beginning next week;
  • Saudi officials call on the new Bush Administration to put pressure on Israel to reach a solution that protects the rights of the Palestinian people;
  • Norway announces its readiness to help in solving the problem of the Palestinian refugees;
  • Tunisia and Syria call for the realization of the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes as well as the complete Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Arab lands;
  • Syrian President Bashar Assad will head to Teheran today in the first visit of President Assad to Iran since ascending to power.and he will meet with Supreme Guide to the Republic Ayatullah Ali Khamenei and President Muhammad Khatami;
  • The Arab League announces its support for any Arab effort to clear the air between Iraq and Kuwait and Riyadh;
  • And UN spokesman Fred Ekhardt predicts a visit by an Iraqi delegation to New York at the end of next month.”
  • Bulletin also included final two items on El Salvador death toll and Lebanese in the Congo

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