Epstein Secrets

zouk's remarks come as Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas meet in Qatar. The Hamas leader added that the Quartet's requirement that Hamas recognize Israel "do not concern us one bit." "We would have spared ourselves seven years of misery under the siege and t

s is a red line that cannot be crossed. The future government is not interested in providing Israel with recognition, and the conditions set by the Quartet committee do not concern us one bit. We would have spared ourselves seven years of misery under the siege and two wars in 2008 and 2012 had we want

with Tehran is as it was in the past, but there are efforts to repair it." The text of the interview follows: Al-Monitor: Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank are skeptical about the prospects of reconciliation. Are you confident that it will be implemented, in light of past failures? And why are the Pale

g pragmatically and constructively. They are opening the door to negotiations that could begin as soon as December. This development is leading the Quartet (the U.S., EU, Russia, and the UN) to think beyond their plans from last year, when they could not manage to bring the parties together, according

ettlement by year's end. Thus UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry expressed the Secretary General's hope that the Quartet partners, in consultation with the parties, would chart a "new, credible political way ahead" in the coming months. It remains to be seen how Isra

tatus at the UN. As it is currently being framed, the resolution will include a clear definition of borders for the Palestinian state that includes the West Bank and Gaza. The UN resolution will provide Abbas with the diplomatic platform he needs to enter into negotiations with Israel, and give him room to d

Strip will depend on effective control there by a legitimate Palestinian government that exercises authority in the West Bank, is committed to the Quartet principles and the Arab Peace Initiative and respects the commitments of the Palestine Liberation Organization. • Call for both states to engage in

tah is moving slowly: the Hamas leaders here are likely to lose their jobs. The hospital supply crisis is a direct result of tensions with Fatah in the West Bank, which has kept the supplies from being shipped here. Efforts by fringe Islamist groups to challenge Hamas have had little effect. And it has been

f Israel as a Jewish state, something they have long refused. Last week, the United States tried to build support for such a quid pro quo from the Quartet, a Middle East peacemaking group that also includes the European Union, the United Nations and Russia. Winning the Quartet's endorsement would have

reak that deadlock, Mr. Obama proposed using the prevailing borders before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, adjusted to account for Jewish settlements in the West Bank, as the basis for negotiating a new Palestinian state. Mr. Netanyahu initially rejected that formula, saying it would render Israel indefensible.

f Israel as a Jewish state, something they have long refused. Last week, the United States tried to build support for such a quid pro quo from the Quartet, a Middle East peacemaking group that also includes the European Union, the United Nations and Russia. Winning the Quartet's endorsement would have

reak that deadlock, Mr. Obama proposed using the prevailing borders before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, adjusted to account for Jewish settlements in the West Bank, as the basis for negotiating a new Palestinian state. Mr. Netanyahu initially rejected that formula, saying it would render Israel indefensible.