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Week in Review - Palestinians 'Just Say No' to Temporary Borders [April 18 - April 24]

US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell came and left the region empty-handed after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas on April 23. While neither side expected any breakthrough, the meetings were still a disappointment overall. Following Mitchell's meetings with the two sides, US State Department spokesperson Philip Crowley said on April 23 that Israel and the Palestinians were "unlikely to make an immediate return to mediated talks," the goal which the US has been working for since President Barack Obama took office.

Despite the failure to move forwards, Netanyahu has still been able to feign concern for the peace process, urging the Palestinians to enter negotiations for a solution. "We hope the Palestinians respond - we have to move this process forward," Netanyahu said on April 23, telling Mitchell that "We're serious about it."

Netanyahu was referring to his so-called offer, whereby he said he would agree to an "interim agreement" in the West Bank that would include the establishment of a Palestinian state within temporary borders. However, Jerusalem, he said would be delayed to later discussions. Building in Jerusalem would not be halted either. "There won't be a [building] freeze in [east] Jerusalem," he said before meeting with Mitchell. "This is a red line, and I'm not crossing it."

The Palestinian leadership gave its red line too. In a policy speech before Fateh's Revolutionary Council on April 24, President Abbas said Netanyahu's "offer" of a Palestinian state with temporary borders was "unacceptable." The President called on Israel's leaders to make bold moves. "Do you want a two-state solution? If you want it, we are ready." Abbas also reiterated the Palestinian demand for a halt to all settlement construction, east Jerusalem included.

The US, which hoped to be the main catalyst for a renewal of Palestinian-Israeli talks is showing signs of frustration within its establishment's inner circles. On April 21, former US Ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk said in an interview with Israeli Army Radio that if Israel believed it was a superpower than it could manage its affairs on its own without the US's help. Indyk, who is the vice president and director of foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, is also an advisor to George Mitchell. However "if you [Israel] need the United States, then you need to take into account America's interests."

Indyk's harsh words towards the US's biggest ally came just days after President Obama stressed the close ties between his country and Israel on the occasion of Israel's 62nd independence. Days later, Obama continued to assuage Jewish fears of deteriorating relations in a letter to Alan Solow, the chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. "As we continue to strive for lasting peace agreements between Israel, the Palestinians, and Israel's neighbors, all sides should understand that our commitment to Israel's security is unshakeable and that no wedge will be driven between us. We will have our differences, but when we do, we will work to resolve them as close allies," the president wrote. A week earlier the president o the WJC (World Jewish Congress) penned an open letter to Obama expressing concern for "the dramatic deterioration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Israel" in recent months.

Both the Palestinians and Israelis are casting blame on the other side for the current impasse. Israel says the Palestinians need to drop their "preconditions" for returning to negotiations, namely their call for Israel to freeze settlement construction in Jerusalem, while the Palestinians say Israel is to blame, for not accepting the internationally recognized perimeters for negotiations, which include the settlement freeze.

Meanwhile, the situation on the ground is equally unpromising. On April 23, four protesters were injured in Bilin during the weekly protests against the separation wall there, including 47 year old Palestinian-Israeli Imad Rezqa who was hit in the head by a tear gas canister. Rezqa is now in hospital in serious condition after suffering from a fractured skull and hemorrhaging. Three others were injured as well on April 23 including another Israeli, a Palestinian and an international activist.

In the Hebron-area town of Beit Ummar, residents are dealing with a leaked sewage pipe opened by settlers from the settlement from the Gush Etzion bloc on April 21. The sewage water flooded a Palestinian vineyard, damaging approximately 70,000 square meters of land and crops belonging to the Sabarneh family. While Israeli military officials were informed of the leak, they only admitted to a "mistake" saying if the townspeople wanted compensation for their losses, they would have to go through the court system to get it.

Meanwhile, Palestinians fear Israel has already begun to put military order 1650 into effect. On April 21, Israeli authorities deported prisoner Ahmad Sabbah to Gaza after being in jail for 10 years, dropping him off at the Erez Crossing. On its part, the Hamas-run authority in Gaza has said it would not receive any deported Palestinians from the West Bank on the sole principle that any Palestinian should be allowed to live wherever they want in their homeland. Instead, the de facto authority in Gaza has set up tents outside the Israeli crossing into the Strip where the deportees can remain until they are allowed to return to their homes in the West Bank and until international parties intervene.

Another man, who was born in Gaza but lived with his wife and children in the Palestinian area of Jaffa, was detained at a hospital and transported to Gaza. The man was later allowed to return however, after the decision was reversed.

In Jerusalem, Palestinians are bracing themselves for an extreme right wing march into the Palestinian suburb of Silwan on April 25 after Israeli police granted permission for the march to 70 or so extremist settlers. The group is planning to march through Silwan to demand the demolition of Palestinian homes there.

Finally, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA warned on April 19 that the Palestinian Authority will not have much land to administer in Bethlehem soon, thanks to Israeli measures in the area. According to the agency, the PA will only have control of 13 percent of Bethlehem lands due to the accelerating settlement expansion and bypass roads in the area, which they said would drastically affect the lives of thousands of Palestinians.

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