Washington’s Mideast Talks 9/2

Amb. EDWARD L. PECK
     Available for a limited number of interviews, Peck was chief of
mission in Iraq and Mauritania and deputy director of the White House
Task Force on Terrorism in the Reagan administration. On May 31, he
sailed from Athens aboard the M/S Sfendoni as part of the flotilla
taking humanitarian supplies to Gaza; the ship was assaulted in
international waters by Israeli forces, which took it and its passengers
to Israel under armed guard.

     He said today: "Everyone is talking about 'the peace process' or
'ending the conflict' -- but there's no war going on, it's an
occupation. Everyone is talking about 'negotiations,' which implies two
sides in relatively equal positions to affect decisions, but Israel is
the jailer and the Palestinians are the prisoners.

     "It is, unfortunately, unrealistic to expect anything significant
to occur. No one in his or her right mind -- and we all recognize that
not everyone qualifies for inclusion -- wants anything bad to happen to
a single Israeli, or Palestinian -- or American, but the terrible truth
is that terrible things have happened, are happening and, I fear, will
happen to all three groups because of [what] is and what is not
happening in Palestine and Gaza. Please note that I very much do not
want to be right."

ALI ABUNIMAH  http://electronicintifada.net
     Abunimah recently wrote the op-ed "Hamas, the I.R.A. and Us"
published in the New York Times, which states: "The United States
insists that Hamas meet strict preconditions before it can take part in
negotiations: recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by
agreements previously signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation
Organization, of which Hamas is not a member. These demands are
unworkable. Why should Hamas or any Palestinian accept Israel's
political demands, like recognition, when Israel refuses to recognize
basic Palestinian demands like the right of return for refugees?

     "As for violence, Hamas has inflicted a fraction of the harm on
Israeli civilians that Israel inflicts on Palestinian civilians. If
violence disqualifies Hamas, surely much greater violence should
disqualify the Israelis?"
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/opinion/29abunimah.html

     He also recently wrote a piece for the Los Angeles Times titled
"Enthusiasm for Palestinian prime minister isn't shared by Palestinians:
Salam Fayyad's embrace by the U.S. and Israel doesn't change the fact
that millions of Palestinians languish under occupation and in poverty."
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/31/opinion/la-oew-abunimah-palestine-20100831

     Abunimah is co-founder of the Electronic Intifada website and
author of the book "One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the
Israeli-Palestinian Impasse."

JOSH RUEBNER, http://www.endtheoccupation.org
KHALILA SABRA
     Ruebner is national advocacy director of the U.S. Campaign to End
the Israeli Occupation. He said today: "Without the United States
compelling Israel to abide by its obligations under international law
and UN resolutions, it is impossible to envision how these negotiations
can lead to a just and lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis.
By failing to insist on guiding principles and a timeline, the Obama
administration sets itself up for another failed round of talks." He
recently wrote a piece titled: "Top Ten Reasons for Skepticism on
Israeli-Palestinian Talks" in The Huffington Post:
http://tinyurl.com/2g2d6ey .

     Sabra serves on the steering committee of the U.S. Campaign to End
the Israeli Occupation and directs the Muslim American Society's
Immigrant Justice and Legal Clinic. She recently returned from a trip to
the region, which included a peace conference and meetings with an
Israeli Knesset member and the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa
Mosque. She said today: "Today, Palestinians remain in the position of
supplicants to Israel. It's so similar to what African Americans
experienced prior to civil rights."

For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020, (202) 421-6858; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167



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