Qurei held up at Israeli checkpoint

Chief PA negotiator claims that he resisted Israeli security procedures; Livni apologizes for incident.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
qurei 224.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
qurei 224.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
Israeli authorities held up the chief Palestinian negotiator for an hour at a West Bank crossing on Monday, a delay he claimed was politically charged. Negotiator Ahmed Qurei, also known as Abu Ala, said Israel tried to subject him to unspecified security procedures he resisted, a statement from his office said. "We construe such acts as targeting the political positions of Abu Ala and the negotiations," Qurei's office said in a statement. Qurei was crossing into the West Bank from Jordan, ahead of a meeting later in the day with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who heads the Israeli negotiating team. Livni apologized for the incident, Qurei's office said. Israel similarly apologized in November when Qurei and his team were held up at a West Bank checkpoint while traveling to Jerusalem for a negotiating session. That delay so enraged the Palestinians that they canceled the meeting. Last month, IDF troops killed one of Qureia's bodyguards during an arrest raid.