U.S. accord no attention to Palestinian cause at present, E.U. incapable of proposing independent initiative, Suleiman

By Abdul Raheem Ali, IOL Staff

CAIRO, January 25 (IslamOnline) – Opening the new round of the Cairo-hosted inter-Palestinian dialogue on Friday, January 24, Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman asserted the importance of putting forward a Palestinian initiative suggesting a one-year halt of resistance operations inside Israel.

Speaking for about one hour, Suleiman said such a halt of attacks would help Egypt to throw its weight behind the Palestinian cause and push towards revival of negotiations to find a way out of the current standoff and help establish the Palestinian state with Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital.

Suleiman also called on all Palestinian factions to act in unison in their uphill struggle to save their cause and the future of the generations to come.

The Egyptian intelligence chief underlined that the Bush administration accords no attention to the Palestinian’s deplorable conditions, noting that the Iraq crisis had enfeebled the Arab situation in general and the Palestinian cause in particular to the extent that some observers had stigmatized the Palestinian resistance as being a form of "terrorism."

Despite their bona fide, the Europeans are incapable of putting forth an independent initiative, Suleiman said, citing British Prime Minister Tony Blair's failure to convince Israeli Premier Arile Sharon of allow the Palestinian delegation to attend the London conference on Palestinian political reforms.

Three Main Suggestions     

Some Palestinian factions, especially Fatah, are expected to side with the Egyptian vision, said Fahd Suleiman

In exclusive press statements to IslamOline, Fahd Suleiman, head of the Democratic Front for the Liberating of Palestine (DFLP) delegation, said some Palestinian factions, especially Fatah, are expected to side with the Egyptian vision.

He noted that Mahmoud Abbas, who is leading Fatah delegation, underlined the importance of coping with the current changes and steering clear of what could harm the Palestinian cause or tarnish the image of the Palestinian resistance in the eyes of the world.

He added that main problem lies with the stances of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, on the one hand, and the PFLP and the DFLP, on the other.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad, he said, oppose, in principle, any halt of resistance operations or declaration of truce.

The two groups maintain that resistance is a legitimate right fairly entitled to the Palestinian people to defend their land and holy places against the Israeli occupation, said the DFLP official.

While the PFLP and the DFLP, he remarked, reject to make such a concession without an Israeli pledge to grind to cessation all Israeli aggressions against Palestinian civilians and incursions into Palestinian cities.

The DFLP official added that the new round of talks will dwell on three main suggestions.

First, reviving the August 5, 2002, proposal to which Hamas had refused to sign up.

Second, putting forward a Palestinian initiative calling for protecting Palestinian and Israeli civilians.

Thirdly, restricting resistance operations in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967 to the Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers.

However, the DFLP official did not say whether the Egyptian-proposed truce would be also debated or not.

In the meantime, Maher al-Taher, the head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) delegation, called on Egypt to do everything in its power to help release PFLP Secretary General Ahmad Sa'daat, currently held inside an Anglo-American guarded Palestinian prison in Areha under claims of protecting his life.

"I underlined how it was imperative for all Palestinian factions to seize the golden opportunity provided by Egypt and sincerely re-consider the Palestinian status quo in order to draw a new Palestinian political landscape, which should be given first and foremost priority," Taher told IslamOnline.

He further said that he asked Abu Mazen about how serious Fatah is to go for the principle of a unified political leadership, asserting that Fatah wold not oppose the proposal as a basis for achieving the Palestinian national unity.

Hamas and PLO

Ma'shal declined to comment on the truce matter.

For his part, Khaled Ma'shal, who is heading Hamas delegation to the inter-Palestinian dialogue, said Hamas is flexible vis-à-vis joining the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), adding that Hamas had not yet rejected the proposal.

Ma'shal, however, averred that it was incumbent upon the PLO to make radical changes in its institutions, so that it could play its role positively.

He declined to comment on the truce proposal but underlined that all factions were capable of holding a serious and productive dialogue, which placed national interests high on the agenda.

The Palestinian delegations thanked Egypt for hosting the inter-Palestinian dialogue, hoping the talks would result in positive outcome to iron out the current standoff.