Israel-PA talks sham without Hamas: Analyst

An analyst has criticized the so-called peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a “sham” amid the absence of the Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas, Press TV reports.

In a Sunday interview with Press TV, Stephen Lendman, a US-based author and radio host, rejected the Western idea that Hamas has “seized” the Gaza Strip and described the Palestinian resistance movement as a “legitimate government” after winning the majority of votes in the 2006 election.

“Can you imagine having peace talks between two parties and the legitimate government is excluded from these talks?” asked Lendman, stressing that the absence of Hamas “shows what a sham all of this is.”

The analyst further pointed to “horrific” statements made by Israeli officials after the Palestinian Authority decided to join 15 international organizations and treaties.

The Israeli-PA talks reached a new deadlock when the Tel Aviv regime refused to free the last tranche of 104 Palestinian prisoners in late March as part of a deal for the resumption of US-sponsored negotiations.

The move prompted the Palestinians to respond by applying to join 15 international agencies and treaties on April 1.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to take unilateral measures against the PA unless it abandons plans to join the UN agencies and international treaties.

Lendman went on to say, “My only question to [acting PA chief] Mahmoud Abbas is why weren’t these applications to join these organizations filed years ago?”

Since the resumption of the direct talks last July, Palestinians have objected to a number of issues, including the Israeli regime’s illegal settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The PA also refuses to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, saying it would not accept any agreement with the regime which fails to include East al-Quds (Jerusalem) as the capital of a future Palestinian state.