I’d also like to know by what right do the “palestinians” have to sovereignty over any part of Jerusalem? The only reason eastern Jerusalem became an arab majority is because the Jordanian army in 1948 kicked out the Jews, confiscated their property and destroyed synagogues. So why should the fact that arabs make up the majority of the population of eastern Jerusalem be accepted as a basis for muslim sovereignty over it?
To achieve Mideast peace, Obama must make a bold Mideast trip
By Zbigniew Brzezinski and Stephen Solarz, WaPO
[..]
Such an effort [visit the ME as Sadat visited Jerusalem] would play to Obama’s strengths: He personalizes politics and seeks to exploit rhetoric and dramatic settings to shatter impasses, project a compelling vision of the future and infuse confidence in his audience.
The basic outlines of a durable and comprehensive peace plan that Obama could propose are known to all:
First, a solution to the refugee problem involving compensation and resettlement in the Palestinian state but not in Israel. This is a bitter pill for the Palestinians, but Israel cannot be expected to commit political suicide for the sake of peace.
Second, genuine sharing of Jerusalem as the capital of each state, and some international arrangement for the Old City. This is a bitter pill for the Israelis, for it means accepting that the Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem will become the capital of Palestine.
Third, a territorial settlement based on the 1967 borders, with mutual and equal adjustments to allow the incorporation of the largest West Bank settlements into Israel.
And fourth, a demilitarized Palestinian state with U.S. or NATO troops along the Jordan River to provide Israel greater security.
[..] For the Israelis, who are skeptical about the willingness of the Palestinians and Arabs to make peace with them, such a bold initiative by Obama would provide a dramatic demonstration of the prospects for real peace, making it easier for Israel’s political leadership to make the necessary compromises.
[..] Finally, for Obama himself, such a move would be a diplomatic and political triumph. Bringing Arab leaders and the Quartet with him to Jerusalem and Ramallah to endorse his plan would be seen as a powerful example of leadership in coping with the protracted conflict. Since it is inconceivable that the Israeli government would refuse Obama’s offer to bring Arab leaders and the Quartet to its capital, most of the American friends of Israel could be expected to welcome the move as well.
Accordingly, the administration must convey to the parties that if the offer is rejected by either or both, the United States will seek the U.N. Security Council’s endorsement of this framework for peace, thus generating worldwide pressure on the recalcitrant party.
1 comments:
"Recalcitrant party," hmmm. Laura, if you've read the entire article carefully, you will note it does NOT once mention Abu Bluff by name. As Barry Rubin has been ruefully noting for the last couple of weeks now, all foreign policy analysis from Washington ignores the fact it is the Palestinians who keep adding new preconditions and refusing to sit down and negotiate directly with Israel. That is the elephant in the room Brezinzski and Solarz casually brush aside. For the record, Israel is not making peace with Obama. And as for Jerusalem, it will never be be divided again. No Jew in history, whether no longer here, alive today or yet to born has any right to relinquish it. This is not something one generation of Jews gets to decide for all those gone and yet to come. Maybe Brezinzski doesn't understand this point but I would have thought Solarz, a Jew would. I was was the one who updated the Dayan dictum but my point was a peace without Jerusalem just isn't a peace at all. No Jew can accept a peace that does not include Israeli sovereignty over all over Jerusalem. The Brezinzski-Solarz article makes a good paper origami but it won't lead to any breakthrough in the Middle East in our lifetime.
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