News agency Al-Jazeera has published thousands of confidential documents concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East, providing an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at peace negotiations between US, Israel and Palestine.
The leak includes nearly 1700 files including thousands of pages of diplomatic correspence, as well as memos, emails, maps and minutes of closed meetings between 1999-2010.
According to Al-Jazeera, the revelations include the surprising willingness of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to concede settlements to Israel in East Jerusalem, compromises made by the PA regarding the return of refugees, and details of security co-operation with Israel.
The leaks have already led to widespread condemnation of the PA across Palestine, after it was revealed that its negotiators privately conceded Israel’s definition of itself as a Jewish state while refusing to recognise Israel’s existence in public, and offering Israel “the biggest Jerusalem in history” – an offer which was rejected.
The leaks further reveal that Palestinian negotiators had agreed to Israeli demands that only 10,000 refugees would be allowed to return to Israel, out of a total refugee population of 5 million.
Al-Jazeera and the UK’s Guardian newspaper, which was also granted access to the leaked documents, described the overall impression of the decade of leaks as revealing “the weakness and growing desperation of PA leaders as failure to reach agreement or even halt all settlement temporarily undermines their credibility in relation to their Hamas rivals.”
The Guardian contends that the leak also reveals “the unyielding confidence of Israeli negotiators and the often dismissive attitude of US politicians towards Palestinian representatives” – at one stage former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice suggests that Palestinians could live in Latin America, and in the minutes of a meeting with Palestinian negotiators in 2009, Rice’s successor Hillary Clinton is heard to ponder why Palestinians were “always in a chapter of a Greek tragedy”.
Palestinian authorities have responded to the leaks by attacking al-Jazeera for “distorting the truth” and playing “a propaganda game through the media in order to brainwash Palestinian citizens”.
Chief negotiator Saeb Muhammad Salih Erekat has dismissed the minutes were “a bunch of lies and half truths”, while angry protesters stormed al-Jazeera’s offices in Ramallah before being stopped by police.
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& who said the "peace" process is alive? It was dead a decade ago.
Decade long "peace talks" with Israel is going no where. Today Israelis are annexing more Palestinian land, building more illegal settlements, excavating under Al-Aqsa mosque more and more and killing countless number of innocent civilians day by day. There is not a single advantage for Palestinians because of these talks. Also with such huge concessions from the Palestinian side (they are basically giving up everything), Israel is not interested. It shows that they are not interested in peace at all. Groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad are right all along. Peace cannot be achieved by talks with Zionists who came and occupied Palestinian land, only resistance is the answer. Its the peoples resistance which drove away British from India and its the peoples resistance which ended the Apartheid system in south Africa. and so the same should be today in Palestine. it really doesn't matter whether the fighters who fight against oppression and injustice and for their homeland are labeled as terrorists, islamists, extremists, fundamentalists,etc they should continue their struggle, because its the only way to achieve the ultimate peace for Palestine. long live Palestine! long live the resistance! Viva Palestina!
It is insulting that despite the concessions, the Israeli leadership refuses peace. It is insulting that Fatah could even consider giving away so much of Palestine when Palestinians will never accept giving away so much of Palestine. It is insulting that despite all the tough talk, Obama has prioritized Politics ahead of Justice. Fatah has clearly become an agent of Israel, "acting" as the representatives of Palestine. Every moment Fatah stays in power, Israel annexes more and more of our Muslim lands and continues to oppress our brother and sisters in Palestine. Fatah's lies are exposed and they must be ousted at all cost. We need STRONG MUSLIMS to take charge and stand up for justice!
These concessions by the PA are incredible!!!! they are legalizing international illegality. And thats exactly where Israel wants them to do.
After all the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, I can come to only one conclusion. And that is, Israel does NOT want a Palestinian State! Israel has a "stiff neck" and will not yield to a two state solution. Yet, they pride themselves on being "reasonable" and have learned how to smile as they kill.
For the nation Israel - who allegedly went through the Holocaust in Nazi Germany - to be so hard-nosed about any negotiations for peace with the Palestinians, you would have to have a "God" who has no mercy or, love of his fellow human being. Israel has created God in their own image, their own likeness- a rigid, ramrod God who lacks compassion. All I can say to Israel is this; God help you Israel because, you are going to need it - unless, of course, you repent. How much longer are you going to put God to the test?
More and more proof that just like the U.S., Israel is more worried about keeping the war machine money going than in getting peace. So what if thousands of people get killed in the process, just as long as the money keeps coming in to the few at the top.
Now that's journalism! Good job Al Jazeera. I would say 95 to 98 percent do know it was staged when these paid youths tried to attack the newscast in Ramallah.
"If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. - David Ben Gurion (the first Israeli Prime Minister)
Well Dave, it looks like Palestinian "Leaders" were prepared to sign an agreement, giving Israel "almost everything". But the Israelis wanted, still want, nothing less than EVERYTHING!
Rice: I don’t think that any Israeli leader is going to cede Ma’ale Adumim.
Qurei: Or any Palestinian leader.
Rice: Then you won’t have a state!
Queri should have responded "then the Israelis will not have a Jewish state. Only an Apartheid state with a Jewish minority".
fatah and other leaders in muslim countries(including the ones running this country) are a corrupt gang and they are Israels partners. all they think about is money and other worldly gains. They are selling Palestine while forgetting about islamic law. Fortunately we still have some good muslims, otherwise they would have sold all our holy lands.
This is nothing personal against individual Jews, but an impartial reading of the Old Testament reveals that the Israelites stole the land in the first place. More recent events in the past few decades is just more of the same. Regardless of whether a deity or the U.S. is on their side or not, theft is theft, even if the supposed deity does it. All this talk about "negotiation" is a farce in comparison to the reality that Palestinian natives are just being victimized by force.
Jews have opportunities to acquire land legally just like anyone else: by immigrating and buying. But they and their supporters overstep that and steal land, sometimes by force, sometimes by trickery, and sometimes by both. It's been that way for thousands of years, as the Bible shows. Historically they have claimed that God is on their side, but I don't think any God would behave in such a way in taking land by force to favor one people over another, the way the Israeli government and the U.S. government and other colonial powers have done.
Similarly as with the U.S. war upon Iraq, humanity is receiving a lesson in how hapless, how foolish we are to be so easily led astray by frivolous excuses. We are being shown again and again that Israel steals by force and that the U.S. engages in terrorist acts. We are being shown that no matter how clear the reality, we (as humanity at large) still find excuses to deny it. Eventually the tide will turn, but not until our noses have been rubbed in reality so hard and so long that making excuses becomes even harder than confronting reality.
I agree with "marwi marmara".
These documents prove the peace process has been a ruse. Israel will never agree to make peace with the Palestinians, no matter how much compromise the Palestinians offer. Israel appears interested only in the complete annexation of all Palestinian land, and the ethnic cleansing of all Palestinians from the region. The world should put an end to this charade, and recognize Palestinian statehood immediately.
The Tunisians were successful in removing the first puppet Arab regime. We are at the early stages of a very long struggle in order to give the Arabs their dignity back.These puppet regimes have been singing lies for decades. Palestinian innocents were and are dying for their rights while the puppet Abbas and his chief negotiator and all the other puppet leaders are executing orders from the west.
"If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. - David Ben Gurion (the first Israeli Prime Minister)
Well Dave, it looks like Palestinian "Leaders" were prepared to sign an agreement, giving Israel "almost everything". But the Israelis wanted, still want, nothing less than EVERYTHING!
This is shameful. The so called moderate palestinian leaders are nothing but a bunch of traiters and sell outs. Indeed Hamas has been vindicated. This also proves that the Americans cannot be parties to the negotiations. It is clear that the Americans have become the spokesmen and mouthpiece of the Israelis and therefore cannot be an honest broker. I advise the the palestinian people to topple the so called PLO leader through popular protest like the one in Tunisia otherwise they will continue to connive with the Israelis and the Americans until all the the land is fully taken away. Indeed the enemies of the palestinian people are the likes of Abu Mazin, Qurei, Saeb Erakat, etc.
America, a proxy state of Israel controlled by AIPAC, using hard earned american dollars and lives to fight israeli wars and other interests. Hopefully the next superpower China will take the Palestinian side (for energy security, which is what a rational American policy would be).
The American hate index must have increased by millions of percentage points ever since the US was mounted by Israel. The Palestinians need to look at other means to help their interests such as befriending Iran and having better relations with Turkey and China.
First class work by the crew at Al Jazeera. Finally the Palestinian people are told of the feeble treachery committed by the collaborating PA. Plus the fact that Israel and the US have never had any intention of making any concessions.
The "Peace" process has just been a complete farce, designed to legitimise previous and future invasions and ethnic cleansing in Palestine.
It seems my Arab-Israeli alliance theory was right after all.
The people of Palestine should thank Al-Jazeera for revealing this betrayal.
fathah is the secular party in Palestine. they have been involved in this "peace" talks with Israel for decades. and these latest revelations shows that, in fact, they have been making secret deals with the Israelis and giving everything to them, while gaining nothing in return, umm except the bribes.. i'm talking about gaining nothing for the local Palestinians.
on the other hand, Hamas is the religious party in Palestine. They have been resisting the israeli occupation since israel was implanted in Palestinian land. because of their heroic fight Israel has to pull out its troops occupying Gaza, along with thousands of Israelis who had illegally settled in the territory in the year 2005. ( by the way, this is not Gaza war. well.. that's also a victory for Hamas, cox Israel didn't achieve anything in the war, they couldn't free that captured Israeli solder, and they couldn't defeat hamas, they only achieved in one thing that's killing thousands of innocent women and children- well they r good at that anyways) Hamas has won the democratically held elections in 2006. (and because of that they were put under economic sanctions- shows the double standard of the west). Fathah, that secular party has no legitimacy to govern cox they have lost the elections... well, my point is that, this clearly shows the true face of the secularists; power hungry, always running after money, and holds on to no principles what-so-ever. this is the case of secularists here in Maldives as well, i advise all the sane Maldivians to vote for the religious candidates in the upcoming local council elections and other elections over the non-religious secularists. otherwise, when the "Maldivian papers" are released we will find more dirty laundry than these "Palestine papers"
this article has a factual error. it says "it was revealed that PA negotiators privately conceded Israel’s definition of itself as a Jewish state while refusing to recognize Israel’s existence in public" PA has recognized israels "existence" a long time ago. Infact Israels existence was recognized by the signing of Oslo accord in September 1993. it is "Israel as an exclusive Jewish state" which PA didn't admit in public. cox Arab residents make up 20% of Israeli population. refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_citizens_of_Israel
Please correct that mistake.
This is what will happen in Raajje too... with the current govt's readiness to please and appease the Zionist Israeli govt...
BOYCOTT ISRAELI GOVT...
secularist politicians (like those of fathah) are all the same, no principles and easily bribed. please stay away from them in the coming local elections. one such person is male municipality president sarangu Adam manik
now where is this article hidden? its nowhere in the main page even though its published only yesterday. y is it taken off???
izrael suxxxxxxxxxxx
sour loozers!!!
For peaceful settlement both the parties and mediators have to be sincere and honest. The whole Muslim world is also responsible for the present condition of Palestine as they were not united and not sincere for Palestinian cause.
With Iraq gone, USA has now set its eyes on Iran. Instead of supporting Iran, Saudi Arabia wanted US to attack Iran. Where is Muslim Brotherhood.