'Clinton bribed to support Israeli interests'

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:37:50 GMT

http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=110453&sectionid=351020202

A senior Palestinian official accuses US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of being compensated by Israel for urging the Palestinian side to resume peace talks without preconditions.

Omar Hilmi Al-Ghul, a top advisor to the PA's caretaker Prime Minister Salam Feyadh, said on Wednesday that Clinton is being bribed by “the Zionists” to support their interests in her attempts to revive the long-stalled Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.

"Why, Mrs. Hillary? How much did the Zionists bribe you, and what weight does AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] carry in your decisions and inclinations? Have you asked yourself who is occupying whose land? Which side is plundering the land, murdering [its] inhabitants, sowing death, violence, and terror, and destroying human civilization in the region?” he wrote in an article in a Palestinian daily under the headline, "Clinton, Why Must You Lie?"

Al-Ghul, who is considered to be a “moderate” and a peace partner by the US government, made the remarks after Clinton praised the Israeli proposal for restrained settlement building during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, describing it as an "unprecedented" settlement concession.

This appeared to be endorsement of the Israeli position that talks could start before a complete end to the illegal settlement work. In the past, Washington had called for a complete halt to the expansion of Jewish settlements on Palestinian land.

Her remarks, an apparent U-turn in US settlement policy, sparked protests among Palestinians who have repeatedly said that they would agree with the resumption of peace talks only after a full settlement freeze in the West Bank and East Jerusalem Al-Quds — the area they want as the capital of their future state.

Al-Ghul also criticized Clinton for calling the Palestinian demand a 'precondition obstructing peace process'.

"Clinton, Why Must You Lie?" he wrote, "Why is Mrs. Clinton lying to herself, to the American people, and to [other] world nations by twisting the truth and accusing the Palestinians of being an obstacle to a [peaceful] arrangement?! "