(Gatestone Institute) Khaled Abu Toameh - The Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership continues to give false hope to Palestinians regarding the "right of return" to their former villages and towns in Israel, instead of helping the refugees and encouraging them to move on with their lives. Abbas' PA media regularly refer to Acre, Haifa and Jaffa as "Palestinian cities." If and when the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks ever resume, PA leaders will not be able to make any concessions on the refugee issue. The leaders will have only themselves to blame for having radicalized their people over the years to a point where Palestinians consider any concessions to Israel as a "crime of high treason." This stance not only applies to the refugee issue, but also to other matters, such as the two-state-solution, the status of Jerusalem and the future borders of a Palestinian state. Neither Abbas nor any future Palestinian leader will be able to reach a compromise with Israel when the PA itself continues to promote such anti-Israel sentiments.
2015-05-14 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive