DFLP urges Abbas to remain firm on settlement freeze
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A senior official of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) on Saturday warned the Palestinian leadership not to resume talks with Israel before it completely stops Jewish settlement activities in the occupied territories.
"The DFLP backs President Mahmoud Abbas's position because insisting on halting the settlement is the right way to international interaction with the Palestinian cause," said Saleh Zidan, a member of the DFLP's politburo, in an interview with Xinhua.
The peace talks stopped in December 2008 when Israel unleashed a military campaign against the Gaza Strip as well as the continuation of settlement buildings in the West Bank and East Jerusalem that the Palestinians consider their future statehood.
Recent peaceful demonstrations in the West Bank against the settlement "and the steadfastness of Gazans under siege" support the Palestinian National Authority (PNA)'s position against pressures to go to talks. "The negotiations are useless without being accompanied by wise resistance," Zidan said.
He also praised China and Russia for their stance that Israel has to stop the settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. "We need more positions similar to China and Russia" so Israel won't make use of the negotiation in covering its measures on the ground.
The DFLP, which marks the 41st anniversary of its founding on Saturday, is the third faction in Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) which Abbas's Fatah party dominates.
Along with other leftist and independent groups, the DFLP has often mediated between Islamic Hamas movement and Fatah, especially in reconciliation efforts that followed Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza in 2007.
Zidan ruled out that Hamas-Fatah crisis would end soon, blaming on "regional and external factors." He was implicitly referring to Hamas' ties with Syria and Iran and Fatah's commitments under the PNA to the U.S. pressures.
He stressed that Hamas must accept Egypt's proposal which includes a vision to end the power struggle with Fatah. Hamas raised reservations on the proposal but Cairo rejected to them.
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