Fayyad criticized for attending Israeli conference on security

Published today (updated) 03/02/2010 15:46

Bethlehem - Ma'an -

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad addressed the Tenth Herzliya Conference on Wednesday, following Israeli Foreign Minster Ehud Barak, and amid harsh criticism from several sides in Palestine.

The conference, at the Campus of the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, was co-sponsored by Israel's Institute for Policy and Strategy, and The Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy. Topics at the conference were Israeli personal security, regional security, Russian immigration, preparedness on the home front, pension savings, Iran as a nuclear threat and climate change.

Fayyad attended a final discussion on regional peace, and stressed the need to hand over security control to Palestinian officers, saying "It's time to stop the IDF raids. The Palestinians can have an official security presence outside Area A as well."

The prime minister also took the opportunity to address the settlements issue. He was quoted by Israeli media as saying:

"The Palestinian state must be built in the areas where the settlements are today. One of the main ways to move forwards towards an implementation of the Road Map is by stopping Israel's infiltration into territories slated to be part of our state.

"People ask why the Palestinians are making so much noise when it comes to the settlements. The issue is presented in a very materialistic manner, and they are trying to present it in a very simplistic manner. The Palestinians declare that their state must be built exactly on the territories you are building on ... East Jerusalem is an integral part of the future state of Palestine."

Criticism

Senior Fat'h official Hatem Abdul Qader criticized Fayyad for his decision to attend conference, saying the political party as a whole was "furious about this participation in a conference held by the Israeli security establishment."

Abdul Qader said the conference was a venue for discussing ways of undermining Palestinian rights and driving them out of Jerusalem.

"This year’s conference set up five standers for the 'Jewish immunity of Jerusalem'; tightening control on Jerusalem, changing the demographics of the city, gaining control of Palestinian lands through confiscation and disrupting the social fabric of Jerusalem society."

Abdul Qader described the conference as "offensive on all levels," and not something that "any Palestinian should participate in." He further urged the PLO to take control of the increasing "lawlessness of Palestinian officials."

Fayyad From Hertzilia: "Ending Conflict Is The Only Assurance To Israel's Security"

Wednesday February 03, 2010 03:09 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Palestinian Prime Minister, Dr. Salaam Fayyad, stated during his speech at the Hertzilia Conference on Tuesday at night that ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the only means that could assure Israel's security, and stability in the region.

Fayyad said that stability is directly related to increasing the presence of the Palestinian security forces in Palestinian cities.

Fayyad further stated that the Palestinians need to be in control of the security outside of Areas "A", referring to Palestinian territories under Israeli security control.

As for the current the current situation, Fayyad said that the stalled peace process must be resumed, but added that comprehensive peace cannot be achieved unless Israel recognizes the Palestinian right to statehood and independence.

He further stated that the serious flow of the Oslo peace deal is that it fails to recognize that the final status negotiations should lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The Palestinian PM said that the Road Map Peace Plan is an important document as it calls to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and ending the Israeli occupation.

The Road Map Peace Plan, Fayyad added, calls for a full freeze of all settlement activities.

"How can we trust the political process while settlements are expanding?!", Fayyad stated, "Under the current situation, how can the political process lead to a permanent solution?"

The Palestinians seeks to establish their state in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel after the 1967 six-day war, including occupied East Jerusalem.

Israel refuses a full withdrawal from the occupied territories, refuses any withdrawal from Jerusalem, and insists on constructing and expanding Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, and in occupied East Jerusalem.

Israel also refuses to recognize the Right of Return of the Palestinian refugees, and still refuses to hold talks on borders and natural resources.

Israel occupation government defense minister, Ehud Barak, (who is responsible for Israeli war crimes in Gaza, in January 2009) stated during the conference that should West Bank Palestinians become able to vote in the Israeli elections in the future, then Israel would become a bi-national state, and added that if the Palestinians are not allowed to vote “then Israel would become an apartheid country".

Meanwhile, settlement leaders in the occupied territories where angered by the statements of Israeli President, Shimon Peres, when he described Dr. Fayyad as a “follower of Ben Gurion”.

Head of the Yesha Council of Settlements, Danny Dayan, stated that Fayyad is a “racist who wants Israel cleared of Jews”.

Dayan added that Fayyad is not a follower of Ben Gurion, and that he recently burnt Israeli products in the West Bank.

Dayan was referring to an event organized by the Palestinians in the West Bank to boycott products of Jewish settlements. Fayyad participated in the event, and participated in the burning of settlement products.

Jewish settlements in the West Bank (all of which are illegally built on Palestinian lands) violate the International Law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.