Dinner at the White House

None of us of course are invited. But The Israeli Prime Minister and Mahmoud Abbas will be honored guests. This is the dinner the day before the Israelis and Palestinians sit down in direct talks with one another.

The table talk will be light and friendly with little jokes told throughout the meal. All will act like old friends meeting after a long absence from each other. The underlying distrust will not surface that night.

The following day the leaders will meet to outline how each believes the talks should proceed. The Israelis will want to discuss the "security issues" and the Palestinians will want to address the issue of borders. There will be no agreement that day.

For Israels part they will want to insure that the palestinians do not have a standing army or any military of any consequence. The Palestinians could agree to this IF Israel agrees to an international border force. Israel will want to control the borders themselves period!

Israel will demand access to Palestinian airspace at will in order to monitor the Palestinians. As a soverign state the Palestinians will reject this. Israel will demand total access to Palestinian waters (Gaza is expected to be brought into the fold eventually) The Palestinians will also reject this.

These are the security demands Israel will make to the Palestinians. The talks will never get beyond the security issue.

If the talks begin as the palestinians wish with borders, Israel will insist on keeping the large settlement blocks within Israel. The palestinians will point out that all settlements were built contrary to international law and because of this Israel has no right to that territory. BUT, in a gesture towards peace The PLO will be willing to trade the settlement blocks for land of equal size and value. Israel while not rejecting this proposal will negotiate it fiercely in an effort to decrease the amount of land alloted to the Palestinians. They MAY reach an agreement on this. Next The PLO will insist on their international right to East Jerusalem pointing out that the entire international community rejects Israels annexation of East Jerusalem. Israel will not budge on this issue. The talks will fail on this point.

The other core issue is "The right of return". Israel, forgetting they agreed as a condition of their being recognized as a state by the UN to allow the re-patriation of Palestinians, will point out that Israel will lose it's Jewish idenity if they allow the right of return. Indeed they will but is that the fault of the Palestinians who fled for fear of their lives from their homes now occupied by Israelis?, The PLO will point out. The right of return is an INDIVIDUAL right that even the PLO cannot negotiate away. There may however be some formula the Palestinian diaspora may agree to.
so, perhaps they can get past this issue.

Then there is the issue of water. The water of course is in Palestine and the Israelis will demand access to it. This is probably the easiest issue for potential agreement.

In any case at the end of the day the Israelis will not give up East Jerusalem and the PLO will not make peace without it so we can look at this as a totally wasted effort.
I believe the only way peace will truly come is for the international community to IMPOSE it under force of arms.

What do you think

Haven't these people heard of the internet or telephone?Did you know you can now talk to someone overseas without having to leave your house,amazing stuff.
This is nothing more than a photo shoot.

[edit on 22-8-2010 by 12voltz]

reply to post by gem_man


Agreed.
And I already said in another similar thread that they are just wasting the airfare to the US...

Nothing will come of this meeting because Israel will ALWAYS want more than its given, period!!

All questions and conflicts can be solved eventually, but i cannot see how refugees question will be solved. Israel cannot allow return since it is end of Israel, Mahmoud Abbas cannot give up on it since it is his (and PLO) end.
I sadly do not see an agreement soon. The best outcome, in my opinion, would be some "temporary" formula that would allow creation of Palestine and relatively peaceful coexistance , there is nothing more permanent in Middle East as temporary solutions.
Because if it will be played out on the same principles as before, the only way out will be through another spiral of violence, as with Arafat intifada.

reply to post by ZeroKnowledge


So, you are saying Israel will refuse to abide by a condition it previously agreed too???

That about sum it up?

What a shock, Israel breaking an agreement..When will it end?

reply to post by CynicalM

So, you are saying Israel will refuse to abide by a condition it previously agreed too???

Where exactly Israel agreed to return of refugees - because to me it is quite a shock.
Source, please?

The Israeli and Palestinian Prime Ministers are REPRESENTATIVES of their people, and are not at the negotiating table for their own self interest.

In negotiations, it is important to establish the common grounds first, and both the Israeli and the Palestinians have a common ground to stand upon - they are sick and tired of the wars and savagery shown after decades of violence that brought them nowhere.

Thus there is a need to seek for peace and the common aspirations of both people, whom are humans just like President Obama, representative of the american people, a common understanding bonded by the principles of the Constitution and adherence of the Universal Rights of Humanity, fought by full blooded generations of american youths, from indepence to the nam and Middle Eastern wars.

Religion is a non issue, as both had been worshipping the same Creator all along, only in different forms, but accepted by our Creator who had acknowledged and revealed having many names, and one of them being the human empowering 'I AM', to prevent further bloodshed amongst His own creations.

It will be this common ground that all parties can negotiate for a lasting peace, once and for all, in good faith and in good will for the sake of their own people and humanity. Quid Pro Quo.