Fatah Official in Charge of Jerusalem Hatem Abd Al-Qader: Palestinian-Israeli Negotiations Constitute Crisis Management, Buying Us Time Until Circumstances Change

Following are excerpts from an interview with Hatem Abd Al-Qader, the Fatah official in charge of Jerusalem, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on January 24, 2011:

Hatem Abd Al-Qader: The negotiations are not negotiations. When the Palestinians engage in negotiations over Jerusalem, the refugees, or the other final status issues, they are engaged in negotiations management and conflict management. We do not harbor any hope that any negotiations over Jerusalem will restore Jerusalem to the Palestinians. We are engaged in negotiations management and in crisis management, and in conflict management, but we do not harbor any hope that Jerusalem will be regained through negotiations. Jerusalem will be regained in other ways.

The negotiations constitute a form of crisis management, and they buy us time until the balance of power in the region changes. Abu Mazen does not place his bets on the negotiations restoring Jerusalem. He is engaged in conflict management, conducting negotiations, until the circumstance change. It is a mistake to believe that Jerusalem of the pre-1967 borders will be regained by the Palestinians and the Arabs through negotiations.

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