President Abbas, in a separate interview last month, said Israel’s continued construction in West Bank settlements made it impossible to convince Tareq that the two-state solution was still viable. “I said, ‘Look, my son, we are looking for two-state solution and this is the only one.’ He said, ‘Oh, my father, where is your state? I wander everywhere and I see blocks everywhere, I see houses everywhere,’ ” the elder Mr. Abbas, 78, recalled. “I say, ‘Please, my son, this is our position, we will not go for one state.’ He says, ‘This is your right to say this, and this is my right to say that.’ Because he is desperate. He doesn’t find any sign for the future that we will get a two-state solution, because on the ground he doesn’t see any different.” While such a binational state is a nightmare for the vast majority of Jewish Israelis, Palestinians are comforted by demographics. There are already more Arabs than Jews living between the river and the sea, plus millions of Palestinian refugees, and generally higher Palestinian birthrates. Natalie Tibi, the 16-year-old daughter of Ahmad Tibi, an Arab member of Israel’s Parliament, said she did not care what the future state would be called, only that her grandmothers be allowed to return to their original homes in Jaffa and the village of Meiser, now part of Israel. Like many Palestinians, Tareq Abbas thinks his father should abandon the American-led peace talks and press for statehood instead through international organizations. He believes that President Abbas should dissolve the Palestinian Authority, forcing Israel to take full responsibility for the West Bank, as a pressure tactic. He opposes extending negotiations. “Of course I say my opinion, definitely I say my opinion, but it’s not advice,” Mr. Abbas said of their father-son chats. “I don’t say, ‘Don’t do it.’ Who am I to tell him this? Even as a father I can’t talk to him like this, you want me to say to the president like this?”
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 11:51:59 +0000
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