Roundup: Palestinians condemn Kerry's "bias" on attacks against Israel

Palestinian parties condemned on Tuesday positions of the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on recent attacks against Israel ahead of his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Kerry held talks with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem Tuesday morning and referred to Palestinian attacks against Israel as "terror" attacks.

Secretary General of Fatah's Revolutionary Council Amin Maqboul told Xinhua that Kerry's remarks signal bias of the U.S. administration towards Israel, adding that such statements prove that Washington is not an "impartial" broker.

He didn't convey any optimism in regards to Kerry's talks in the region, saying that he seeks a "free calmness" without active proposals to end the occupation.

Israel occupied the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip territories, where Palestinians wish to establish a state according to the two-state solution, in the 1967 Mideast War.

Kerry has started on Tuesday his first visit to Israel and Palestine in more than a year, in a bid to curb the deterioration of the security situation in the wake of a wave of tension that flared up early October.

During his meeting with Netanyahu, Kerry told journalists that he came to talk "about ways to work together, to push back against terrorism, against senseless violence, and to find a way forward to restore calm."

In remarks published by Israeli media, Kerry also expressed condemnation for any act of "terror that takes innocent lives and disrupts the day-to-day life of a nation."

"Clearly, no people anywhere should live with daily violence. Israel has every right to defend itself," Kerry said.

The Islamic movement of Hamas, that controls the Gaza Strip since mid 2007, has also condemned Kerry's remarks.

Hamas representative Sami Abu Zuhri said in an emailed press statement that it doesn't welcome Kerry, calling upon the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to boycott his visit because it's an "insult to the martyrs and a provocation to the Palestinian people."

A wave of violence that broke out between Israel and the Palestinians early October, continues to flare up while Israel is responding by more security crackdowns on Palestinians.

The Palestinian health ministry said that 97 Palestinians had been killed in violent confrontations with Israel. In turn, 19 Israelis were killed in a series of shooting, running cars over and stabbing attacks carried out by Palestinians against Israel in protest to the Israeli measures against al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem.

Islamic Jihad movement accused Kerry in a statement of attempting to "curb the Palestinian Intifada," in reference to the flaring violence.

The Palestinian Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) also warned of any Palestinian engagement in the "security issues" that Kerry is attempting to pass in order to stop the "Intifada."

Palestinian officials had downsized chances that Kerry's visit would resume the Mideast peace talks, adding that Kerry would brief the Palestinian leadership of results of the last meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington earlier this month.

Ahmad Majdalani, member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told Xinhua that the Palestinian side doesn't see any "serious indications" to the resumption of peace talks, or at least implementing the bilateral agreement.

He added that the Palestinians believe that there was no breakthrough in the conflict or the Palestinian choices offered to the U.S. authorities.

He explained that the Palestinian leadership is "evaluating the results of its calls with the American administration and will consider taking on alternative Palestinian measures in response to the deadlock of the peace process."

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) has adopted earlier in November recommendations on determining the security, the political and the economical ties with Israel, citing that the Palestinians can't be the only party to commit to signed agreements.

Palestinians have been threatening to stop the security coordination as a part of measures to reviewing the Palestinian-Israeli relations in protest of Israel's non-abidance by the signed agreements as well as the frozen peace talks.

Political analyst Samih Shabib told Xinhua that Washington's sole aim is to "coordinate regional and Israeli positions to pressure the PNA to restore calmness on the ground."

Shabib said that the United States ignores that "the root causes of the current unrest are the Israeli occupation and its aggressive policies."

He accused Washington's bias, saying that Kerry's visit comes in favor of Israel, particularly accommodating Israel's military and security demands.

Shabib noted that Obama has clearly stated that "Palestinians and Israelis won't reach a comprehensive final status agreement in the remainder of his term," which eliminates hope of any serious and meaningful peace process in the region. Endit