Abbas' senior aide rules out unilateral policy for Palestinian issue

A senior member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) on Tuesday ruled out any unilateral policy on resolving the Palestinian issue in response to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's call for resuming peace talks with the Palestinians.

Yasser Abed Rabou, also a senior aide of President Mahmoud Abbas, made the comments only one day after Olmert said in a speech that Israel was ready to "withdraw from considerable territory", free Palestinian prisoners and release frozen tax revenues of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in exchange for a captive Israeli soldier.

Abed Rabou said that Olmert's call for the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table was "a continuation of the unilateral policy and a bid to impose solutions from one side."

Oppugning Olmert's proposal, Abed Rabou said such remarks were aimed at dividing the West Bank as Israel built a concrete wall separating between its territories and Palestinian-controlled one.

Palestinians have been accusing Israel of building the wall on their land and annexing the land to Israel's border.

Meanwhile, Taysser Khaled, a senior member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) said Olmert's speech "appeared flexible but reflected obstinacy in its content."

Khaled dismissed Olmert's calls on the Palestinians to "abandon their legitimate right of resisting the occupation and the right of return of refugees."

On Sunday, a vulnerable truce between Israel and the Palestinians has been taken effect, ending a five-month Israeli military offensive in Gaza.

Source: Xinhua