Jibril Rajoub, a senior PLO official, told Israel Radio that if the Palestinians are convinced that Israel is committed to the two-state solution, they will be ready to meet Prime Minister Netanyahu halfway.
“If Netanyahu really believes in the two-state solution, we are ready to resume negotiations tomorrow,” he said in an interview.
Rajoub said the Palestinians do not set preconditions, but wish to know what the framework of the negotiations will be. He stressed that the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has no military solution, only a political solution.
He added that the Palestinians are willing to take bold steps and hope that Americans will present a clear plan when Secretary of State John Kerry returns to the region.
Jibril Rajoub was first arrested by Israeli security in 1968, when he was only 15. After being sentenced to life in prison, he was part of a 1985 prisoner release—1,150 Arabs in exchange for three Israelis held hostage by the PFLP. After the Oslo deal, Rajoub served as head of the Preventive Security Force until 2002, and then as Yasser Arafat’s national security advisor in 2003.
Rajoub was notorious for his open violence, most frequently against Arabs, including shooting people in broad daylight in the streets of Ramallah. In July, 2012, as head of the Palestine Olympic Committee, Rajoub called “racist” a request for a minute of silence to remember the 11 Israeli athletes murdered at the Munich Olympics by Palestinian Arab terrorists in 1972.
Rajoub told the Hezbollah television network that “until now we have not had nuclear weapons, but in the name of Allah, if we had nuclear weapons, we’d be using them.”
We wish Israel the best of luck in meeting Mr. Rajoub halfway. Please don’t forget your kevlar vests.