Abbas urges Israel to hand over cities
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Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday he cannot impose law and order in the Palestinian areas until Israel hands over control of West Bank towns, and he urged it to return to talks concerning their transfer.
"We have no control on the ground," Abbas told a news conference in Ramallah.
Abbas, Palestinians officials said, will go to Washington within the next 10 days to meet President Bush. No exact date has been set for the visit.
Abbas said Palestinian forces would only be effective once Israeli troops leave West Bank cities. "Nobody can say we hold responsibility for the situation because we do not have a presence in the cities," he said.
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How does one even begin to understand land rights within the scope of the Gaza Strip, Israel, and the West Bank. I spent some time viewing maps of the regions along with boundary lines, check points, etc. Israel does not owe Gaza more land. Where Israel has settlements in the West Bank belongs to Israel. In viewing the boundaries of Gaza, it would seem logical to increase the inner boundry up to the SW boundry of the West Bank, but not extending over it. I do not know what the land is like in that area, but if workable for housing, farming, etc., this I believe would be a fair exchange from Israel to the Palestinian nation. According to Wikipedia, Israel has made its fair share of mistakes by giving up land and then trying to get it back which is the case in Golan Heights with Syria, and also in Gaza when Israel abruptly and without notice withdrew border crossing and control in the one area. I don't know if any of this will ever be resolved between Arab and Jew, but one thing remains and that is that God blessed both with land and prosperity, and the ability to enlarge their blood lines. Sometimes I think outsiders without foreknowledge can make better and more logical solutions then those closest to the heart of the issue.
