Palestinian gov't slams U.S. peace initiative

The Palestinian coalition government, led by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), slammed on Saturday a U.S. plan aimed at stopping Palestinian attacks against Israel in exchange for easing movement restrictions on the ordinary Palestinians.

"The proposed American initiative is very dangerous and doesn't meet the minimum hopes of the Palestinian people," Information Minister Mustafa al-Barghouti told reporters.

Al-Barghouti, also a spokesman for the coalition government, added that "we don't want to improve the conditions of the prison. We want to go out of it," citing the 530 permanent roadblocks set up by Israel in the West Bank and some 630 random others.

He, meanwhile, accused the American plan of neglecting the government, saying the plan mentioned only the forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas. "The plan is based on making a crack between the government and the presidency," said the minister.

Meanwhile, Hamas movement considered the American initiative as "interference in the internal affairs of the Palestinian."

"Hamas sees the plan as a bid to turn the Palestinian political cause into a humanitarian one related to the checkpoints and crossing points," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoom said.

According to an earlier report of Israeli daily Ha'aretz, the U. S. plan, presented recently to Israel and the Palestinians, calls on Israel to remove some roadblocks in the West Bank and improve operations at Gaza's crossings.

The Palestinians are asked to halt rocket attacks against Israel and weapons smuggling into Gaza in return, the report said.

Source: Xinhua