Abbas “accepts the Jewish people’s connection to the land of Israel and their connection to Jerusalem as its capital,”

"The 'charm Offensive' of a buffoon!"

Politico/ here

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas continued his charm offensive in Washington after his White House meeting, attending a dinner with Jewish American leaders Wednesday night and addressing the Brookings Institution Thursday....

“Now, we’d like to reach a solution on two initial issues – borders and security,” Abbas told the Brookings audience. Abbas said if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin. Netanyahu agrees that proposals on two issues, borders and security, that he negotiated with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert can serve as the basis of their talks, “then we could start direct negotiations to discuss the remaining issues,” Abbas said.

“This is what we discussed with Pres. Obama in detail and we also talked at length about what happened recently against the Freedom flotilla, that set out to help the people of Gaza – to end unjust blockade,” Abbas said.

“Concerning the direct talks … [the U.S. administration] came to us with a proposal; let us go to proximity talks,” Abbas told Jewish leaders and former officials at a dinner Wednesday night. “They sent a letter to us. We will go through in the proximity talks for a while. If we achieve any progress we will go to the direct talks. That is exactly what we are doing. Now we are in the proximity talks. We are talking about any achievement, progress from the Israeli government concerning the two core elements – security and borders.....

“The man has said in the clearest of terms he accepts Prime Minister Netanyahu’s assessment of a demilitarized state,” former Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) told POLITICO Thursday. Wexler hosted the Wednesday dinner for Abbas attended by some 30 Jewish leaders and former officials,......... “He doesn’t want tanks, he doesn’t want missiles, he wants an internal security force.”

Abbas “accepts the Jewish people’s connection to the land of Israel and their connection to Jerusalem as its capital,” Wexler continued. “He readily accepts the 1967 borders with swaps that acknowledge realities on the ground, and he accepts a third party intermediary for security purposes on his in his state so long as it is not Israeli. It could be American, NATO, he has even said it could be composed of Jewish people.” ......

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s David Makovsky, who attended both the Wednesday Abbas dinner and Thursday Brookings event, also said the Palestinian leader has been extremely engaged and conciliatory on the visit. (If WINEP is commending Abbas, then I have nothing else to add...)....

“About the incitement, I am ready and.... we are ready to eliminate any kind of.Palestinian incitement of Israel.”

One Abbas dinner attendee who asked to remain anonymous said after deflecting the question two times, Abbas cited "Obama" as the reason he was not going into direct talks with the Israelis yet. ........Abbas won some breathing space from the administration on going into direct talks – a couple months.

“Abbas gave the president a clear understanding of where he is and now [Obama] has to get it from Bibi,” Wexler said. “And if and when he does it will give Abbas the ability, depending on the answer to move forward.”