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Ahmed Qureia

Ahmed Qureia

Palestinian Authority

Israel-Palestine

Palestinian

20020404

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Olmert offered Abbas East Jerusalem, to evacuate 60,000 settlers

2009-01-29

Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to transfer the Arab neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem to Palestinian sovereignty and evacuate some 60,000 Jewish settlers from the West Bank, an Israeli newspaper reported Thursday. Yediot Ahronot said Olmert detailed the concessions he offered to Abbas to US President Barack Obama's newly appointed envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell. Mitchell, due to meet Abbas in Ramallah Thursday, is on his first trip to the region since his appointment last week and met Olmert over lunch Wednesday. The daily said Olmert also offered Abbas to withdraw from most of the occupied territories along the lines of before the 1967 Arab- Israeli war, in which Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from Egypt. Some changes would be made to those lines that would allow Israel to annex its main Jewish settlement blocks in the West Bank. But Israel would compensate for the lost land by handing over territory in the south of the country to Palestinian sovereignty on a one-on-one basis, Yediot said. Asked why these offers failed to materialize into a peace agreement during the past year of negotiations, Olmert blamed Abbas and Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia, saying they froze contact as soon as it became clear Israel was heading to elections and refused to sign a document inking what had been agreed thus far. The daily gave no source and the article appeared to be based on a leak from a participant in the Olmert-Mitchell meeting of Wednesday. Olmert's spokesman, Mark Regev, would neither confirm nor deny the report. 'I can only refer you to the speech the prime minister gave publicly at the (late prime minister Yitzhak) Rabin commemoration,' he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. In that November speech, Olmert called for concessions similar to the ones which according to the Yediot report he in fact made to Abbas. 'The prime minister has been flexible and creative' since Abbas and Olmert revived long-stalled peace negotiations at a summit in Annapolis, Maryland, in November 2007

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Olmert's office: Israel won't take in any Palestinian refugees

2008-08-15

(Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Israel will not allow the return of any Palestinian refugees as part of a future statehood deal, Olmert's office said on Thursday. "The prime minister never offered to absorb 20,000 refugees in Israel. The prime minister again reiterates that under any future agreement, there will not be any return of Palestinian refugees to Israel in any number," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) was quoted by local daily Ha'aretz as saying. The official statement was issued in response to an earlier Ha'aretz report that Olmert had proposed absorbing 2,000 refugees per year for 10 years as part of an agreement to establish a Palestinian state in most of the West Bank and all of the Gaza Strip. According to the earlier report, Olmert had proposed to Abbas that the "shelf agreement" the two sides are working on include an agreement for Israel to take in Palestinian refugees as part of "family unification." Sources in Israel and the United States said that according to Olmert's offer, the absorption would be based on humanitarianism and according to a formula to be determined in advance. The PMO, however, responded to the report by saying that Olmert' s stance is that the establishment of a Palestinian state is meant to provide an answer to the absorption of Palestinian refugees, and those refugees who are not returned to a Palestinian state will be dealt with by an international force. The American stance on this matter is identical to that of Israel, as expressed in U.S. President George W. Bush's April 2004letter, in which he says Palestinian refugees will not be returned to the State of Israel but to a future Palestinian state, the PMO added. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who is conducting parallel talks with the Palestinians' chief negotiator Ahmed Qureia, is opposed to Israel's taking in any Palestinian refugees, and also refuses to accept them on the basis of family reunification, said Ha'aretz. In her opinion, Israel must not compromise on letting in refugees, because that would be interpreted as an opening to exercising the "right of return." Livni had made it clear to the U.S. administration that if Israeli cabinet is presented with a memorandum of understanding that includes allowing refugees into Israel, she might vote against it.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Israeli-Palestinian Clashes Kill 46

2008-03-01

Israeli troops backed by tanks and aircraft went after Gaza militants who bombarded southern Israel with rockets and mortars Saturday, killing 46 Palestinians in the deadliest day in Gaza since Islamic Hamas militants seized control in June. As many as two dozen civilians died in the fighting, including at least two babies and two other children. Two Israel soldiers were also killed. Gaza Health Ministry official Dr. Moaiya Hassanain said 160 people were wounded and 14 were in critical condition. The intense battles pushed the Palestinian death toll to 76 since fighting flared Wednesday. About 40 of them were civilians. Palestinians leaders called the killings "genocide" and threatened to call off peace talks with Israel. "We tell the world, watch and judge what's happening, and judge who is committing ... terrorism," said ineffectual Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. We'll start with those rockets coming into Sderot, Abby baby. Chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia said Palestinian leaders including Abbas recommended suspending peace talks at a meeting Saturday in the West Bank town of Ramallah. "I think it will be suspended," Qureia said. "What is happening in Gaza is a massacre of civilians, women and children, a collective killing, genocide," Qureia added. "We can't bear what the Israelis are doing, and what the Israelis are doing doesn't led the peace process any credibility." What you're doing to the Israelis isn't helping any either, but few people seem to point that out. In Syria, cowardly exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal described Israeli attacks against civilians in Gaza as "the real Holocaust." Israeli officials met Saturday to discuss the Gaza violence and its implications for peacemaking. Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel said talks didn't preclude fighting. Talks are "based on the understanding that when advancing the peace process with pragmatic (Palestinian) sources, Israel will continue to fight terror that hurts its people," he said. This is a carrot, and this is a really big stick ...

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Israeli-Paleo clashes kill 33 Gazoos

2008-03-01

Palestinians threatened Saturday to call off peace talks with Israel after 33 Gazans, at least half of them civilians, were killed in violence that escalated sharply during the day. "at least half" = "the lower half" The death toll climbed as Israeli troops, backed by tanks and aircraft, went after Palestinian militants who fired 40 rockets and mortars at southern Israeli communities near Gaza. cause/effect unclear? Chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia said Palestinian leaders, including President Mahmoud Abbas, recommended suspending peace talks at a meeting Saturday in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Go ahead, they weren't doing anything anyway "I think it will be suspended," Qureia said. "What is happening in Gaza is a massacre of civilians, women and children, a collective killing, genocide," Qureia added. "We can't bear what the Israelis are doing, and what the Israelis are doing doesn't led the peace process any credibility." Only a Paleo can say that without losing his lips

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Fatah leaders conspire to unseat Paleo PM to pre-empt his control of the boodle

2007-12-22

Our sources report the revolt is led by ousted Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan, jailed terrorist Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed Qureia, chief Palestinian negotiator with Israel. If Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas stands in their way, the Fatah leaders propose cutting Fayyad off from exercising his authority on the West Bank. The revolt was sparked, DEBKAfile’s Palestinian sources reveal, by the international donors’ allocation of $7.4 bn for state-building at their Paris conference five days ago. Dahlan and Co. are determined not to let this bonanza fall into the hands of a Fatah outsider, whose appointment was forced on them by Washington. Why it's always $$$, and never cherche la fam with these people? Oh, never mind.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Palestinians demand deadline for state, ponies

2007-10-30

The chief Palestinian peace negotiator threatened on Tuesday that there would be no talks with Israel unless a deadline is set for establishing a Palestinian state — the first indication the Palestinians could scuttle a U.S.-sponsored peace summit over the issue. Palestinian officials have repeatedly said they want a detailed timeline for talks that are expected to begin in earnest after a U.S.-sponsored Mideast conference in November or December. But although Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has consistently resisted the notion of a deadline, they had never before made the matter a condition for talks. On Tuesday, lead negotiator Ahmed Qureia tightened the screws. "The Israeli prime minister has stated that he will not accept a timetable, and we say we will not accept negotiations without a timetable," Qureia said at a news conference with the European Union's external affairs commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner. He delivered the ultimatum as the two sides struggle to bridge yawning gaps ahead of the fall peace summit. It wasn't clear whether the Palestinians would really carry out the threat, or were trying to wrest concessions from Israel. In the past, however, deadlines have been set and ignored. No date has been set for the U.S.-sponsored summit, set to take place in Annapolis, Md., because the two sides remain so far apart on the starting point for talks. Israel wants a vague, joint statement of objectives. The Palestinians want a detailed outline that would address core issues that need to be resolved before peace can be achieved and a Palestinian state can be established. These are final borders, sovereignty over disputed Jerusalem, and a solution for Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes in the war that followed Israel's creation in 1948. Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have met several times in recent months to try to come up with a joint platform ahead of the meeting, and negotiating teams from both sides have recently entered the process. At Tuesday's news conference, Qureia indicated the talks weren't going well. "We haven't gotten closer yet concerning the issues," he said. "We are talking in general about the issues that should be included in the document. (But) we haven't yet touched the core issues." What the Palestinians want, he said, is "a clear and specific document, without vagueness, that lays the basic foundation for all final status issues. Without that, the conference will be hindered." Qureia was one of the negotiators of the 1993 accord Israel and the Palestinians reached in the Norwegian capital of Oslo, which called for a final peace deal five years later. In 2007, the Palestinians are still waiting, and "we don't want to go for open-ended negotiations," he said Tuesday. Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin said negotiations should be held behind closed doors, not through the media. "We're not at the ultimatum stage," Eisin said. "They agreed to work to go forward, and we are committed to going forward to a joint statement."

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Jimmuh: Don't Punish the Palestinians

2006-02-20

As the results of the recent Palestinian elections are implemented, it's important to understand how the transition process works and also how important to it are actions by Israel and the United States. Although Hamas won 74 of the 132 parliamentary seats, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas retains the right to propose and veto legislation, with 88 votes required to override his veto. With nine of its elected members remaining in prison, Hamas has only 65 votes, plus whatever third-party support it can attract. Abbas also has the power to select and remove the prime minister, to issue decrees with the force of law when parliament is not in session, and to declare a state of emergency. As commander in chief, he also retains ultimate influence over the National Security Force and Palestinian intelligence. After the first session of the new legislature, which was Saturday, the members will elect a speaker, two deputies and a secretary. These legislative officials are not permitted to hold any position in the executive branch, so top Hamas leaders may choose to concentrate their influence in the parliament and propose moderates or technocrats for prime minister and cabinet posts. Three weeks are allotted for the prime minister to form the cabinet, and a majority vote of the parliament is required for final approval. The role of the prime minister was greatly strengthened while Abbas and Ahmed Qureia served in that position under Yasser Arafat, and Abbas has announced that he will not choose a prime minister who does not recognize Israel or adhere to the basic principles of the "road map." This could result in a stalemated process, but my conversations with representatives of both sides indicate that they wish to avoid such an imbroglio. The spokesman for Hamas claimed, "We want a peaceful unity government." If this is a truthful statement, it needs to be given a chance. During this time of fluidity in the formation of the new government, it is important that Israel and the United States play positive roles. Any tacit or formal collusion between the two powers to disrupt the process by punishing the Palestinian people could be counterproductive and have devastating consequences. Unfortunately, these steps are already underway and are well known throughout the Palestinian territories and the world. Israel moved yesterday to withhold funds (about $50 million per month) that the Palestinians earn from customs and tax revenue. Perhaps a greater aggravation by the Israelis is their decision to hinder movement of elected Hamas Palestinian Legislative Council members through any of more than a hundred Israeli checkpoints around and throughout the Palestinian territories. This will present significant obstacles to a government's functioning effectively. Abbas informed me after the election that the Palestinian Authority was $900 million in debt and that he would be unable to meet payrolls during February. Knowing that Hamas would inherit a bankrupt government, U.S. officials have announced that all funding for the new government will be withheld, including what is needed to pay salaries for schoolteachers, nurses, social workers, police and maintenance personnel. So far they have not agreed to bypass the Hamas-led government and let humanitarian funds be channeled to Palestinians through United Nations agencies responsible for refugees, health and other human services. This common commitment to eviscerate the government of elected Hamas officials by punishing private citizens may accomplish this narrow purpose, but the likely results will be to alienate the already oppressed and innocent Palestinians, to incite violence, and to increase the domestic influence and international esteem of Hamas. It will certainly not be an inducement to Hamas or other militants to moderate their policies. The election of Hamas candidates cannot adversely affect genuine peace talks, since such talks have been nonexistent for over five years. A negotiated agreement is the only path to a permanent two-state solution, providing peace for Israel and justice for the Palestinians. In fact, if Israel is willing to include the Palestinians in the process, Abbas can still play this unique negotiating role as the unchallenged leader of the PLO (not the government that includes Hamas). It was under this umbrella and not the Palestinian Authority that Arafat negotiated with Israeli leaders to conclude the Oslo peace agreement. Abbas has sought peace talks with Israel since his election a year ago, and there is nothing to prevent direct talks with him, even if Hamas does not soon take the ultimately inevitable steps of renouncing violence and recognizing Israel's right to exist. It would not violate any political principles to at least give the Palestinians their own money; let humanitarian assistance continue through U.N. and private agencies; encourage Russia, Egypt and other nations to exert maximum influence on Hamas to moderate its negative policies; and support President Abbas in his efforts to ease tension, avoid violence and explore steps toward a lasting peace. Well, I guess you CAN make this shit up.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Three killed in Jenin clashes

2006-01-13

A Palestinian man has blown himself up and Israeli forces have killed two others during clashes in the town of Jenin in the West Bank, security sources and Palestinian witnesses say. Aljazeera's correspondent in Jenin reported that the bomber blew himself up near a group of Israeli soldiers who were carrying out an operation against Palestinian resistance fighters. Israeli forces had surrounded a building in which activists from the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad Movement, were taking shelter. More than 30 military vehicles and a bulldozer were involved in the Israeli operation. An Israeli source said the bomber detonated an explosives belt after refusing to surrender. It doesn't sound like he actually managed to take any Zionists with him, or al-Jizz would be trumpeting that... Another Palestinian fighter in the house was shot and killed by the Israeli soldiers, according to witnesses. Another Palestinian was reported killed during a separate clash with Israeli forces in Jenin. In the city of Ram Allah, violence flared up when armed men opened fire on the home of Nasser Yousef, the Palestinian Interior Minister. Yousef, who was home at the time, was unhurt, but three gunmen were wounded, one critically. Yousef's bodyguards returned fire and wounded three of the gunmen, who were taken to hospital. One was in critical condition with a neck wound, medics said. "You shot me! You shot me in the neck!" "He's right, Ari. You screwed up. Next time, aim 4 inches higher." A fourth gunman escaped in a car, prompting Palestinian security forces to set up roadblocks in the West Bank city. It was not immediately clear which of the many armed Palestinian factions the gunmen belonged to or what prompted the attack. In a seperate incident, gunmen also shot at the offices of Ahmed Qureia, the Palestinian prime minister. There were no reported injuries.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Gunmen Take Over Electoral Office In Gaza

2005-12-28

Gaza, 28 Dec. (AKI) - A commando of Palestinian militants has stormed an electoral office in Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, in a bid to stop the Fatah movement from registering a new list of candidates. A similar assault by gunmen is reported in Rafah, where armed men are said to have surrounded the electoral office. The gunmen are loyal to imprisoned uprising leader Marwan Barghouti and oppose the inclusion of Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and Cabinet minister Nabil Shaath on the candidates’ list for the 25 January elections. Meanwhile the Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas met millitant leaders on Wednesday morning in Gaza and appealed to them to halt rocket attacks on Israel and respect a general truce ahead of the PA elelctions, scheduled for 25 January. After meeting Abbas, a leader of Islamic Jihad, which has carried out suicide bombings despite the truce, said he did not believe there would be an extension to the "period of calm" militants agreed to follow at a Cairo summit.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Palestinians: Arafat's Death Still Mystery

2005-10-12

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - The official investigation into the death of Yasser Arafat failed to determine what killed the longtime Palestinian leader, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said Wednesday. Qureia said the special committee that led the investigation would publish the results later Wednesday, along with a report by the French doctors who treated Arafat. "French and Palestinian doctors who treated the martyred brother found that medicine could not find the disease which infected Arafat, neither viruses, nor germs, nor AIDS, nor bacteria," Qureia said. He said the file would remain open for further investigation. Arafat died in a French hospital on Nov. 11, 2004, after a two-week illness. His wife, Suha, refused an autopsy. Rumors have swirled that Arafat died of AIDS or was poisoned by Israel. Israel denies the allegation. "Poison? No, no, we didn't "poison" him. snicker " Arafat's medical records were leaked to reporters last month. An investigation of these records by independent doctors also turned up inconclusive. The records showed that Arafat died of a massive stroke after suffering intestinal inflammation, jaundice and a blood condition. But the records were inconclusive about the causes of the blood condition, known as disseminated intravascular coagulation, or DIC. The condition has numerous causes ranging from infections to colitis to liver disease. Not to mention Zionist Death rays

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Terror Networks & Islam

Al-Qaeda's "Voice of the Caliphate" newscast debuts

2005-09-27

An Internet video newscast called the Voice of the Caliphate was broadcast for the first time on Monday, purporting to be a production of al Qaeda and featuring an anchorman who wore a black ski mask and an ammunition belt. The anchorman, who said the report would appear once a week, presented news about the Gaza Strip and Iraq and expressed happiness about recent hurricanes in the United States. A copy of the Koran, the Muslim holy book, was placed by his right hand and a rifle affixed to a tripod was pointed at the camera. The origins of the broadcast could not be immediately verified. If the program was indeed an al Qaeda production, it would mark a change in how the group uses the Internet to spread its messages and propaganda. Direct dissemination would avoid editing or censorship by television networks, many of which usually air only excerpts of the group's statements and avoid showing gruesome images of killings. The broadcast was first reported by the Italian Adnkonos news agency from Dubai. The 16-minute production was available on Italian newspaper Web sites. The lead segment recounted Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, which the narrator proclaimed as a "great victory," while showing Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia walking and talking among celebrating compatriots. That was followed by a repeat of a pledge on Sept. 14 by Abu Musab Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, to wage all-out war on Iraq's Shiite Muslims. An image of Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born Sunni Muslim, remained on the screen for about half the broadcast. The masked announcer also reported that a group called the Islamic Army in Iraq claimed to have launched chemical-armed rockets at American forces in Baghdad. A video clip showed five rockets fired in succession from behind a sand berm as an off-screen voice yelled "God is great" in Arabic. The Islamic Army asserted responsibility last year for the killing of Enzo Baldoni, an Italian journalist who had been kidnapped in Iraq. A commercial break of sorts followed, which previewed a movie, "Total Jihad," directed by Mousslim Mouwaheed. The ad was in English, suggesting that the target audience might be Muslims living in Britain and the United States. The final segment was about Hurricane Katrina. "The whole Muslim world was filled with joy" at the disaster, the anchorman said. He went on to say that President Bush was "completely humiliated by his obvious incapacity to face the wrath of God, who battered New Orleans, city of homosexuals." Hurricane Ophelia's brush with North Carolina was also mentioned. The name of the broadcast refers to the Islamic empire that emerged following the death of the prophet Muhammad in the 7th century, eventually stretching from Turkey to Spain and creating an era of Islamic influence that bin Laden has said Muslims should reestablish. According to credits following the broadcast, it was produced by the Global Islamic Media Front. Numerous radical Islamic organizations, some claiming affiliation with al Qaeda, spread information, including photos and videos, by the Internet. Some evade ongoing efforts to shut them down by disguising their presence within innocuous Web sites.

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Israel-Palestine

"There is no Egypt-Gaza border," says PA

2005-09-15

Since there is no border, I wasn't sure whether to put this under Egypt or Palestine. After a third consecutive day of thousands of Palestinians – including known terrorists – passing freely between Egypt and Gaza, a senior Palestinian Authority official told WorldNetDaily last night he is pessimistic troops will be able to restore order in the area. The senior official, who spoke by cell phone from Gaza City on condition of anonymity because he says he doesn't "want to be gunned down get into trouble," told WND: "I'll admit that right now there is no Egypt Gaza border, it's all open wide." Three days after Israel removed the last of its troops and military installations from the Gaza Strip, Palestinians continued to flow across the Egyptian border, many to meet relatives or to stock up on cheap products like AK-47s. Yesterday, Hamas members used explosives to blow a hole in a concrete fence that runs along the Egypt border, after first clearing the area to prevent casualties. Awfully decent of them. Neither Egyptian nor Palestinian security forces interfered. In fact, they participated. Afterward, thousands more Palestinians poured across the border. "Egypt promised us they would close the border by now," said the Palestinian official. "It was only supposed to be opened for a short time as a humanitarian gesture to the families that have been living under Israeli occupation and were unable to travel. Egypt needs to get its act together because it's making [the Palestinians] look bad." You don't need Egypt to make you look bad. Egypt earlier pledged to restore order to the area and warned Palestinians it would impose border controls starting yesterday that would require passports for entry and exit. But as of late last night, the border crossing was wide open, and Palestinians were flowing in and out of both sides. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia is expected to head to Egypt in the next few days to discuss how to coordinate security at the border. Egypt agreed with Israel to deploy 750 troops along the Egypt-Gaza border to impose security and stop weapons smuggling, which runs rampant in the area. Amos Gilad, an adviser to Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, continued, "Egypt is a big country which claims to respect the agreements it signs. It is inconceivable that Egypt as a sovereign state does not control its frontiers." Why not? The US doesn't.

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