Israel repeats same old threats

Fatah Central Committee member, Dr Saeb Erekat, has claimed Israel is engaged in a smear campaign against Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, just like it once smeared late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Erekat, speaking exclusively to Arabstoday, said: "The Israeli government is repeating the same old threats against the President in response to his pursuit of international legitimacy." A leading figure within Fatah and chief Palestinian negotiator between 1995 and 2003, Erekat referred to messages the Israeli government sent through diplomatic routes, calling on world states to rally against Palestinian President Abbas after his successful statehood bid at the United Nations General Assembly. Referring to the recent initiative by the grass-roots Palestinian Popular Struggle Coordination Committees [PSCC] to establish the“occupy”-style Bab al-Shams camp on land slated for Israeli settlements in the E1 region of the West Bank, Dr Erekat called on the international community to support the Palestinian people’s "struggle for freedom and independence.” “The Palestinian youth are using the camp to try and preserve the idea of a two-state solution,” Erekat said, “and to highlight that peace and settlements cannot co-exist. They are trying to push the Israeli government to choose between peace and settlements.” The Israeli army reportedly prevented Erekat, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s [PLO] Executive Committee, and a number of other state officials from reaching the Bab al-Shams camp, which means “Gate of the Sun” in Arabic. The camp was broken up by Israeli police forces on Sunday.