The letter does not explicitly recognize Israel's right to exist. It simply says calls for a Palestinian state on the lands occupied in 1967. What happens then? Is this not the first stage of the phased approach adopted by Arafat - that once the Palestinians get a state in the West Bank, they will then continue with the "struggle" to liberate the rest of Palestine?

blah blah blah

Reparations has been requested from Germany for property stolen by nazis and not from Israel for properties forcefully taken from palestinians during the creation and existance of the state of Israel. Think about it - should the world recognize such actions!

This is obviously a useless document that never had a hope of becoming legit with the israeli's. Like the article pointed out, the most it could do would be to unite the palestinean's, and truly never had the intentions of peace.

This is obviously a useless document that never had a hope of becoming legit with the israeli's. Like the article pointed out, the most it could do would be to unite the palestinean's, and truly never had the intentions of peace.

"Reparations has been requested from Germany for property stolen by nazis and not from Israel for properties forcefully taken from palestinians during the creation and existance of the state of Israel."

The idfference being that Israel won their war back in '67, but the losers never admit defeat.

Progress!

Any move that brings the two countries.....yes countries of Palestine and Israel together, is a step forward. There are many differences, but a common shared will of freedom and basic rights are wanted by both parties. An agreement can be forged, and built on. Peace is possible....!The time has come.

Mark

I would like to see a referendum done in both the PA and Israel on this subject. It would give the world some indication how the people feel on both sides of the issue. This is a non-binding document, and any details involving a peace treaty would have to be worked on in the negotiating process, if and when it occurs. It would also give some guidance to the politicians.
It whould also be helpful if the Palestinian refugees in other countries participated in the referendum.

This is the greatest step that Abbas could do to show the palestinain people that Hammas does not control its own decesion but it is imported from Iran, which it is the root of all evil in the middle east.Hammas serves as a servant for the Iranian policies in the middel east.

This is quite the clever gambit by Abbas.

First off, it's important to realize that this is NOT about advancing peace. It's about Abbas trying to solidify his power against Hamas, and most importantly provide a cover for all that lovely Western aid money to start flowing in again.

Abbas' proposal is anything but `moderate'. And contrary to what the Western media are reporting, it doesn't involve recognition of Israel OR stopping terrorism.

Abbas based his proposal on the platform of a number of Palestinian terrorists (`leaders'?) now incarcerated in Israel, most notably Marwan Barghouti, serving five life sentences for the murder of Israeli civilians.

This charming proposal mostly mirrors the so-called Arab League `peace proposal' put out by the Saudis and amounts to this: Israel is to retreat back to the pre-1967 lines, including redividing Jerusalem. All prisoners are to be released from Israeli custody.The platform does not explicitly recognize Israel's right to exist, but mentions a two-state solution obliquely; it insists on the right of return of all `refugees' and their families to their pre-1948 homes and supports continued "resistance" against Israel in areas occupied in 1967 - in other words, continued attacks on Israeli civilians, armed or unarmed. As a gimmee for Abbas, the document calls for the Fatah doinated PLO to be named the sole representative of the Palestinians.

In other words, if Israel retreats to indefensible borders, releases murderous terrorists, ethnically cleanses Jews from Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem like it did in Gaza and allows itself to be flooded by thousands hostile `refugees', Israel gets an implied recognition..at least, for as long as it survives.

Abbas, of course, immediately endorsed this, saying: "I adopt the position of those heroes."

For an example of the kind of `heroes' Abbas supports and wants released do a search under the name of Samir Quntar, a child murderer who was recently made an honarary Palestinian citizen by Abbas.

This is not about peace - it's about turf, and control over the money...and ultimately about destroying Israel.

As for the Palestinians...either Hamas will take this opportunity to take out Abbas, or they will agree to this transparent fakery to keep the money rolling in.

Robert,

First of all, it is not called "Judea and Samaria".

It is called THE Israeli occupied WEST BANK.

Let me remind you and others, that Israel has NOT existed in the MIDDLE EAST for 2000 years.

It is not 20 years or even 200 years.

2000 years.

To have your Zionist fanatics and fundamentalists colonize 2000 years later the same piece of the land and attempt to rename lands according to what they remember 2000 years ago is an act of fanaticsm and arrogance.

It should be enough that we Arabs kind of accepted this "forcefuly imposed colonial" reality in the middle of our lands. David Ben-Gurion, the chief Polish Zionist colonizer and Israeli hero, once stated "maybe with time, Arabs might accept us".

Most Arabs will accept the Israeli state as a fait-accompli but they would not recognize it for the simple reason that it would amount to recognizing injustice.

As long as we conitnue to see that Zionism, the ideology that Arabs despise (for good reasons), as the driving force in Israel, we will not be able to recognize Israel as a Zionist state.

We will welcome with open arms Israeli who denounce Zionism for what it is: an ideology that mainly thrived (and still thrives) on injustice, denial of natives rights and on the suffering of millions of people (today).

We are not against "Jewish nationalism" or whatever you choose to call it. We are against any nationalism that is built on colonial practices and ideals. Zionism followed that path.

In Morocco, where I am from, my people stood against the Ottomans (who were Muslims) for centuries and never allowed them to control Morocco. And they did the same when French and Spanish (Christians in this case, but didn't matter) came to colonize the country.

On the subject of the blog entry, I have mixed feelings.

I think Hamas should put the issue of "talks with Israel" to a referendum. Whatever the people decide should be followed.

This will give Hamas more legitimacy in what they are doing in the eyes of their people. This is very important.

Not that Israel or the current US administration cares, but these 2 entities are always looking for ways to undermine Palestinian initiatives and ultimately their rights in favor of Israel.

According to Israeli polls, majority of Israeli favor talks with Hamas, however neither the Israeli government nor the US government wants that.

On February 14, 2006 The Guardian reported that:

"Israel has effectively annexed the Jordan Valley - about a third of the occupied West Bank - by barring almost all Palestinians from entering the region, a respected Israeli human rights group said yesterday."

"The sparsely populated valley - home to about 53,000 Palestinians and 6,000 Israelis in 21 Jewish settlements - is among the most fertile land in the occupied territories and an important source of produce."

Commenting on this violation, Olmert stated that:

"It is impossible to abandon control of the eastern border of Israel"

Reasonable honest observers should have no doubt regarding Israeli strategy and its goals: it is to grab as much lands as it can from the Palestinians by driving them out.

That is how it started in the early 1900s and how it still continues with impunity.

There is something that rubs me the wrong way with the way the publicity is being handled.

It occurs to me that this post is both thoughtful and accurate.
We must continue to take the risks while understanding that bloodshed may continue.
If we are truly brave and passionate about the survival of Western Civilization and all that this means to us then there is no easy way, no "fast food" solutions.

It appears that we have tried so many avenues of emotionalism. Perhaps the rational, which is supposedly the evolutionary trait of the west is the true non weapon that will assimilate ignorance and misunderstanding.

r.k.j.

I would like to see a referendum done in both the PA and Israel on this subject. It would give the world some indication how the people feel on both sides of the issue. This is a non-binding document, and any details involving a peace treaty would have to be worked on in the negotiating process, if and when it occurs. It would also give some guidance to the politicians.
It whould also be helpful if the Palestinian refugees in other countries participated in the referendum.

Posted by: P. J. Casey | June 7, 2006 02:55 PM

Note that the savage Israslis, under cover of the furror of the Zarqwai death, has
bombed a young family of seven (children 10, 3 and 1) on a beach in Palestine.
Their daily idea of fun, I guess. And note how the media is 'muffing and muddling" the whole thing...CNN told the whole story by hardly mentioning Israel. And note that Jefferson Morley quickly takes any mention of the fact off the blog quickly. But the world has heard it and all the special Israeli interests that go into overdrive to hide such things cannot hide this.

Robert,

Although Karim has covered many of the relevant points countering your assertions,
I would like to add a few things. Israel has a PAC here whose full time job it is to keep 3 to 6 billion dollars a year of the US　tax payers money flowing into Israel in order to cover the massive shortfall caused by the occupation and settler movement, which are, by the way, Israeli policies that we officially condemn. So it seems odd that you would be skeptical about the few 10's of millions that the Palestinians receive.

Furthermore, Abbas' actions regarding the letter are completely in keeping with the road map, while the further construction and planning of settlements are in total violation of it, although that is exactly what the Israelis are currently doing.

I do believe that the Israelis will be largely forced out of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, due in part to their realization that the idea of a "greater Israel" has been a total moral, diplomatic, security and financial failure. I also think that the US is putting a great deal of pressure on them to leave, but mostly behind the scenes.

I wish that we would take a more public role in dismantling the settlements or at least allow the UN to do it in that it would, as Bill Clinton put it, "remove the philosophical underpinnings for terrorist recruitment in the Middle east". This would make our job in Iraq and our negotiations with Iran and other countries a great deal easier and would be a substantial move forward in the war on terrorism. It would also be in keeping with long term US policy on the subject, and finally, it would simply be the morally correct thing to do.

J