WEST BANK: PLO Chairman Yasser Abed Rabbo accuses Qatari prince of approving Al-Jazeera leak

Record ID: 562422

  • Title: WEST BANK: PLO Chairman Yasser Abed Rabbo accuses Qatari prince of approving Al-Jazeera leak
  • Date: 25th January 2011
  • Summary: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (JANUARY 24, 2011) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF PALESTINIAN LIBERATION ORGANIZATION (PLO) HEADQUARTERS PLO SIGN ON BUILDING CHAIRMAN OF THE PLO, YASSER ABED RABBO, ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE HALL ABED RABBO SEATED PLO FLAG (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PLO CHAIRMAN SAYING, YASSER ABED RABBO, SAYING: "I call upon, in the name of the Palestinian leadership, Palestinian and independent institutes of research and study to immediately create a committee to study these documents and to find out whether they are true or not true." PICTURES OF PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS AND LATE PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT YASSER ARAFAT ON WALL (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PLO CHAIRMAN SAYING, YASSER ABED RABBO, SAYING: "Nothing regarding East Jerusalem has been put forth which goes beyond the position which Abu Mazen told Olmert, once, twice and ten times, East Jerusalem is ours based on the 1967 borders." PICTURE OF ARAFAT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PLO CHAIRMAN SAYING, YASSER ABED RABBO, SAYING: "I would like to send my deepest thanks to the Prince of Qatar since he gave the green light for this campaign which Al-Jazeera launched yesterday." ABED RABBO AT NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE ABED RABBO LEAVING VARIOUS OF YOUNG PEOPLE ATTACHING SIGNS TO RAILINGS IN MANARA SQUARE POSTER READING: "AL-JAZEERA = STAR OF DAVID" MORE OF YOUNG PEOPLE ATTACHING SIGNS CARS DRIVING AROUND MANARA SQUARE JOURNALISTS AND POLICEMEN AT MANARA SQUARE
  • Embargoed: 9th February 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: West bank, West bank
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA84FPRZDPSV7X4TL5ZW2FG8KMG
  • Story Text: PLO Chairman Yasser Abed Rabbo, calls for the creation of a committee to investigate the validity of documents published by Al-Jazeera.
    Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) Chairman Yasser Abed Rabbo called for the creation of a committee on Monday (January 24), to investigate the validity of documents published by Al-Jazeera yesterday.
    The documents, leaked to the telvision station, allege Palestinian negotiators secretly told Israel it could keep swathes of occupied East Jerusalem.
    "I call upon, in the name of the Palestinian leadership, Palestinian and independent institutes of research and study to immediately create a committee to study these documents and to find out whether they are true or not true," Abed Rabbo told waiting media.
    The leaked documents could undermine the position of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose public declarations about Jerusalem are at odds with what his officials were promising in private.
    Equally sobering for the Palestinian people, who want to create a state on land Israel seized in a 1967 war, is the fact that Israel offered nothing in return for the concessions and turned down their offer, saying it did not go far enough.
    The leaked minutes of a 2008 meeting between Palestinian, U.S. and Israeli officials showed a senior Palestinian proposing that Israel annex all but one of its major Jerusalem settlements as part of a broad deal to end their decades-old conflict.
    Al-Jazeera said on Sunday (January 23) it had other documents that it would publish shortly showing the Palestinians were also ready to make other massive concessions on the hugely sensitive issue of the right to return for Palestinian refugees.
    Abed Rabbo affirmed that the PLO's position on Jerusalem has not changed and is no different than that of Abbas.
    "Nothing regarding East Jerusalem has been put forth which goes beyond the position which Abu Mazen told Olmert, once, twice and ten times, East Jerusalem is ours based on the 1967 borders," he said.
    Abed Rabbo sarcastically thanked the Qatari Prince for what he said was giving a green light for a such an 'unprofessional' campaign to be launched by the Satellite TV channel based in Doha.
    "I would like to send my deepest thanks to the Prince of Qatar since he gave the green light for this campaign which Al-Jazeera has launched yesterday," Abed Rabbo said.
    Abed Rabbo denied that these documents were released by officials, saying that a 'small employee' at the Negotiation Affairs leaked documents that he said were already public and had previously been published in the media.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register