Foreign policy heavyweights put in their ten cents on the Annapolis peace conference in this open letter to Condi and Bush titled “Because failure risks devastating consequences.” The parameters suggested by the letter’s signatories have become so obvious that they hardly merit mentioning in this post and that is a testament to the fact that there has been at least this measure of progress in the past eight years. Today, both sides know what final status means. That wasn’t the case at Camp David and that is one significant step forward. The letter states the following:
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Two states, based on the lines of June 4, 1967, with minor, reciprocal, and agreed-upon modifications as expressed in a 1:1 land swap;
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Jerusalem as home to two capitals, with Jewish neighborhoods falling under Israeli sovereignty and Arab neighborhoods under Palestinian sovereignty;
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Special arrangements for the Old City, providing each side control of its respective holy places and unimpeded access by each community to them;
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A solution to the refugee problem that is consistent with the two-state solution, addresses the Palestinian refugees’ deep sense of injustice as well as provides them with meaningful financial compensation and resettlement assistance;
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Security mechanisms that address Israeli concerns while respecting Palestinian sovereignty.
The letter also recommends engagement with Hamas and Syria.
7 responses so far ↓
1 Pappe // Oct 17, 2007 at 12:56 pm
They forget to mention my signature as well.
2 ns // Oct 17, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Well, you say these are “Foreign policy heavyweights,” but they’re all “formers” and not likely to be “futures.” Sure their sentiments are broadly correct, but influential? Not sure.
3 yaacov // Oct 17, 2007 at 2:28 pm
My reading of this letter is rather different.
http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/2007/10/things-you-can-say-when-its-not-your.html
4 Xaxam // Oct 17, 2007 at 3:18 pm
The parameters suggested by the letter’s signatories have become so obvious that they hardly merit mentioning in this post and that is a testament to the fact that there has been at least this measure of progress in the past eight years.
Charles,
you sincerely believe that repeating wrong things thousand times makes them closer to truth?
If you are sincere, please answer one simple question. Assuming that the deal is done precisely according to the above lines, what should Israel do when somebody starts shooting from the Temple Mount at the plaza below? Not an RPG or even a homemade Qassam, just a handgun shooting…
Apparently, file a petition to UN and wait until the Security Cancel convenes and deliberates on the wording of a non-binding resolution no. 32568?
5 Pappe // Oct 17, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Xaxam,
Israel has the full right to re-occupy the temple mount under these conditions.
The Arab side would be smart enough not to let the Palestinians alone to control Temple Mount.
In fact, since there are also Israel/Jewish artifacts deep in the mount Israel should also have some presence there.
Let set aside the issue of the temple mount for a minute.
Is everything else in Charles proposal make sense ? I think it does.
Now for the old city/temple mount etc.. – lets find how it is to be ruled.
It is just fuc..n impossible that 10,000,000 people (or the whole world for that matter) will be hostages to temple mount issues. I agree no one need to have the ability to shot anyone but it is impossible to argue that peace is impossible because security arrangements can not be found.
I afraid that there are many other reasons that would prevent an agreement.
6 Green // Oct 17, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Here’s Israel’s partner to the “peace” conference vision:
http://bp3.blogger.com/_Av6IV14Ta1A/RxYPfmN1JcI/AAAAAAAAAMY/17BEc24dN2Q/s1600-h/mapPATV11102007E.jpg
Land swap? they’re still thinking about how to dominate all the land between the river and the sea.
7 Nana Poku // Oct 17, 2007 at 5:13 pm
Yes it is obvious - it’s the only solution that goes anywhere meeting either the Palestinian or Israeli minimum requirements.
Come on, it’s an open secret that a final peace deal will look something like this - whether there is anyone on the Palestinian side able to deliver it is of course another matter.
The tragedy is that it might take another 10 or 20 years until we finally get there.
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