By Xinhua
Ramallah : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement on Saturday accused U.S. President George W. Bush of violating the UN resolution 194 which is related to the Palestinian refugees.
The UN Resolution 194, adopted in 1948, calls for the return of the Palestinian refugees and compensation paid to those who choose not to go back.
Azzam al-Ahmad, chief of the Fatah parliamentary bloc, said Bush has offered only to compensate the Palestinian refugees, avoiding dealing with their long-anticipated return right.
“The resolution must be dealt with completely and without dividing it,” al-Ahmad told the London-based Asharq al-Awssat newspaper.
Al-Ahmad said a similar offer was rejected by late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat during the 2000 peace talks in Camp David with the presence of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
The return of the Palestinian refugees, the status of Jerusalem and the Palestinian border, are the most-protruding final-status issues which still await a preliminary agreement before they are put on the negotiation table.
On Thursday, Bush proposed “new international mechanisms” including compensation payments for Palestinian refugees as part of efforts to create a Palestinian state.
“I believe we need to look to the establishment of a Palestinian state and new international mechanisms, including compensation, to resolve the refugee issue,” Bush said in a statement delivered during the second day of his landmark visit to the region.
Bush wrapped up a three-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories in a bid to move forward peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
He is now in Kuwait on the first leg of a four-nation Gulf tour, which will also take him to Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. He will also visit to Egypt as the last leg of his eight-day Middle East tour.