Aug. 3, 2004 14:07 | Updated Aug. 3, 2004 21:38Abdullah: PA...

Aug. 3, 2004 14:07 | Updated Aug. 3, 2004 21:38
Abdullah: PA fails to make clear demands
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH


King Abdullah of Jordan on an official trip to Thailand
Photo: AP



The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday reacted with fury to statements made by Jordan's King Abdullah to the effect that that the Palestinians had failed to make clear and specific demands.

In an interview with the Al-Arabiyya news channel, Abdullah harshly criticized the PA leadership, saying the time has come for it to "clearly specify what it wants and not surprise us every now and then with some decisions or by accepting things that it did not accept in the past."

He also criticized what he called shifting demands made by the PA leadership over the number of refugees who should be allowed to return to their original homes inside Israel.

"It is regretful to see that what had been rejected, or considered as treason if accepted, has come to be seen by some as a requirement and great achievement," the king added.

Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, issued a statement strongly condemning the monarch for his remarks.

The group, in an unprecedented attack on an Arab ruler, accused King Abdullah of betraying the Palestinian cause and of failing to prevent Israel from building the West Bank security fence and pursuing its military offensive against Palestinian gunmen.

"Abdullah and the other Arab leaders should be helping the Palestinians in facing the butcher Ariel Sharon and stopping the construction of the wall," the statement said. "Instead of helping the Palestinian refugees in their countries, the Arab leaders are deporting them and throwing them into prison."

PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei said he was "worried" about the king's remarks and offered to dispatch a delegation to Amman for further clarifications.

"Our position has not changed," Qurei said in response to King Abdullah's charge that the Palestinians were constantly shifting their demands.

"The 1967 borders are the borders of the future Palestinian state, the right of return for all the refugees and compensation for those who don't want to return, and Jerusalem is the capital of the Palestinian state."

Qurei urged King Abdullah to clarify his statements and to say if he knew something that the PA leadership didn't.

"We are prepared to form a high-level delegation to visit Jordan to hear about the true situation," he said.

In the interview, Abdullah noted that the Palestinians had changed their territorial demands repeatedly over the past few years.

"At the beginning, the issue was about the return of 98 percent of occupied Palestinian territories, then it became about less than 50% of this land and we don't know what the percentage will be in a year or two."

The king said that the road map plan for peace in the Middle East provided an opportunity that the Palestinians needed to seize if they were to obtain a state.

"The Palestinian leadership is now asked more than ever before to seize the opportunity to achieve peace through the road map," he said. "This requires a bold and comprehensive review by the Palestinian leadership of the situation on the Palestinian arena... and requires the correction of mistakes."

"The world today talks about the many factions and security agencies, as well as the absence of institutions, and uses these fears as justifications to blame the Palestinians," he explained.

"The Palestinian leadership is requested to take decisions that would convince the world to deal with it as a leadership with a clear vision and a unified institutionalized authority. The Palestinians should tell us how they want us to help them and with what."