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Illustrative photo of Fatah militants (Flash90)
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| By Israel Insider staff October 3, 2007 |
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Senior Fatah officials are warning that if the Mideast peace conference fails to meet their demands, an intifada worse than Al-aqsa could break out, the Jerusalem Post reported.
"If we don't prepare well for the conference so that it will result in something positive, the repercussions will be more dangerous than what happened after the failure of Camp David," said Azzam al-Ahmed, head of the Fatah parliamentary list. Ahmed is a close affiliate of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Several of their demands, on which the Palestinians have they are not willing budge, will unlikely gain sufficient support in Israel. They are demanding a full withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders, full sovereignty over east Jerusalem, and concrete terms regarding refugees. Centrist and right wing MKs have expressed fierce opposition to dividing Jerusalem.
Another senior official echoed warnings of a "catastrophe," making reference to the intifada following the Camp David Accords: "But then they realized that Israel was not serious about achieving peace with the Palestinians. The failure of next month's conference could bring another catastrophe upon us."
Israeli Defense officials stressed that the PA chairman does not have stable footing in the West Bank, and has lost all authority in the Gaza Strip, citing serious security concerns in the event of a deal handing over sovereignty to Abbas' government. Recent reports have noted that Hamas is equally as strong as Fatah in the West Bank, only more driven.
"We need to be realistic and realize that Abbas will have extreme difficulty in delivering on any of his commitments," a defense official involved in the talks told The Jerusalem Post. "There is also a real chance that the Palestinians will pull out of the [international] summit even before it takes place due to Israel's refusal to commit itself on final-status issues."
American officials, perceiving the increasing dissonance between the two sides, are reportedly considering postponing the conference, Haaretz reported.
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