Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat is to lying as Anthony Weiner is to sexting and lewd selfies.
And, like Weiner, he’s offended again.
Chief PLO Negotiator Saeb Erekat welcomed the decision, but said it came 14 years too late: “We will continue working for the release of all our political prisoners. The Israeli Cabinet decision is an overdue step towards the implementation of the Sharm Sheikh agreement of 1999, whereby Israel committed to release all the pre-Oslo prisoners.”
Given Erekat’s track record in telling porky-pies, I knew I had to look at the text of the Sharm Sheikh agreement. Here’s the relevant part:
3. Release of Prisoners
- The two Sides shall establish a joint committee that shall follow-up on matters related to release of Palestinian prisoners.
- The Government of Israel shall release Palestinian and other prisoners who committed their offences prior to September 13, 1993, and were arrested prior to May 4, 1994. The Joint Committee shall agree on the names of those who will be released in the first two stages. Those lists shall be recommended to the relevant Authorities through the Monitoring and Steering Committee;
- The first stage of release of prisoners shall be carried out on September 5, 1999 and shall consist of 200 prisoners. The second stage of release of prisoners shall be carried out on October 8, 1999 and shall consist of 150 prisoners;
- The joint committee shall recommend further lists of names to be released to the relevant Authorities through the Monitoring and Steering Committee;
- The Israeli side will aim to release Palestinian prisoners before next Ramadan
Notice the wording: “The Government of Israel shall release Palestinian and other prisoners who committed their offences prior to September 13, 1993, and were arrested prior to May 4, 1994.”
What it does not say is “The Government of Israel shall release ALL Palestinian and other prisoners who committed their offences prior to September 13, 1993, and were arrested prior to May 4, 1994.”
Furthermore, the next part of the clause – “The Joint Committee shall agree on the names of those who will be released in the first two stages. Those lists shall be recommended to the relevant Authorities through the Monitoring and Steering Committee.” – reinforces the idea that there needs to be a mutual agreement as to the list of prisoners to be released, as opposed to Erekat’s claim that the agreement obligates Israel to release all pre-Oslo prisoners.
Lie to us once, shame on you.
Lie to us twice dozens of times, shame on us.
Update: This is reminiscent on the palestinian lie regarding UN resolution 242, which they claim obligates Israel to withdraw from ALL the territories we captured in the Six Day War. But the resolution refers to “territories occupied” not “ALL the territories occupied”:
Emphasizing further that all Member States in their acceptance of the Charter of the United Nations have undertaken a commitment to act in accordance with Article 2 of the Charter,
Affirms that the fulfillment of Charter principles requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East which should include the application of both the following principles:
- Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict
- Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force;
As Lord Caradon – who drafted the resolution’s text – stated:
“Withdrawal should take place to boundaries which are both secure and recognized….. It was not for us to lay down exactly where the border should be. I know the 1967 border very well. It is not a satisfactory border. It is where troops had to stop, just where they happened to be that night. That is not a permanent boundary.”
