MIDDLE EAST

Reviving the Roadmap

The Annapolis meeting is resurrecting an old blueprint for the formation of a Palestinian state. What that could mean for the Mideast.

By Dan Ephron | Newsweek Web Exclusive

Nov 27, 2007 | Updated: 5:34 p.m. ET Nov 27, 2007

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Posted By: kass52 @ 12/04/2007 3:28:10 PM

Comment: As long as the Palestians don't show Israel on their maps, as long as they teach hate to their children, as long as we remember that Israel previously offered 1967 borders (with further terror as a result), as long as mortars and rockets are fired from Gaza (after Israel's gracious withdrawl from Gaza) - no one will believe the Palestinians will provide the security needed for a lasting peace. No one. Israel must have secure borders which is not the 1967 border.
Posted By: thebullss @ 12/04/2007 3:43:22 AM

Comment: because Palestinians believe, by virtue of their rights and a few UN resolutions to the idea that Palestine must have its 1967 boarders in order to say we have a just peace.

That is the essence of the problem. The Israelis has taken so much from the Palestinians that they have not left anything for negotiation. Palestinians have nothing to negotiate with, as they say no bargaining chips. Then you might ask how this could be solved? As always most difficult problems have simple solutions;

That simple, Israel must go back to 1967 boarders, and that would solve most of the problems, everything this side of the boarder will stay in the Palestine, and everything on the other side will stay in Israel. Settlers will have a choice to live in the New Palestine country and live like the Arabs living in Israel, or go back to Israel. Except the older problem of the refugees, which goes back much further? That problem also should be look at in the simplest way, some ideas have already surfaced, compensation for those people and their family, in fact it should be a very generous compensation offer that they (refugees) can not refuse.
Posted By: thebullss @ 12/04/2007 2:37:15 AM

Comment: Annapolis, was grate start for promising the Palestinians their long over due land. In fact to date was the 60th anniversary of such decision by the UN, Sixty years of war and peace talk and a few UN resolutions to that effect which the U.S. would not bother to enforce unlike the resolutions that would like to enforce.

Palestinians have come to conclusion that Israel and its supporters just talk for the sake of talking and do not wish to end this conflict. Notice I said Palestinians and NOT Mahmoud Abbas. They (Palestinians) have been toyed with not only by Israelis and Americans, but also by their own leaders, by other Arab countries, each for their own political reasons, and also by Islamic Republic of Iran.
If sixty years ago the UN told the Palestinians and the Israelis to go and negotiate a peace based on two state solutions, and sixty years later they are still at the exact same place that they were, what make them to do this now?
Does the Palestinian have something this time around to offer for the negotiation to go forward that they did not have for the last 60 years? Probably not.
Does the Israelis have more incentive to offer the Palestinian their statehood? Definitely yes.
The problem is that the Palestinians do not have anything to offer at the peace negotiation or anything that they could negotiate with, or any bargaining chip, except to say what they want. For instance if Israel would not give the lands before 1967, and say, we can only give you 90% of them, could the Palestinian counter offer and say okay will give you??? this??? and you give us the whole 100% of the 1967 land. No, they can not, since they do not have any chips to negotiate with. And because Palestinian believe, by virtue of their rights and a few UN resolutions to the idea that Palestine must have its 1967 boarders in order to say we have a just peace.

That is the essence of the problem. The Israelis has taken so much from the Palestinians that they have not left anything for negotiation. Then you might ask how this could be solved? As always most difficult problems have simple solutions;

That simple go back to 1967 boarders would solve most of the problems, except the older problem of the refugees, which goes back much further. That problem also should be look at in the most simple way, some ideas have already surfaced, compensation for those people and their family, in fact it should be a very generous compensation offer that they(refugees) can not refuse.
Posted By: guyinnz @ 11/29/2007 2:54:05 AM

Comment: President Bush now wants to be a peace maker in fact he is desperate to be one..
President Bush the war criminal wants to be a peace maker....no it does not write well,it does not look good and nor does it sound well.
Bush,Cheney,Rumsfeld,Powell,Rice and a very large flock of others should all be sitting in the cells of the Hague tribunal facing charges as war criminals.
The American media are known the world over now as cowardly,gutless and now you show again how easily you ae duped.
Ths is no peace conference is is just a very crude attempt at covering up a heavily bloodstained Bush.
No matter how often you wash your hands Mr.Bush they will never be clean.
Posted By: guyinnz @ 11/29/2007 2:35:56 AM

Comment: President Bush may now be feeling like a peace maker.
No matter what happens with this peace push,President Bush and his Government are still war criminals.Bush,Cheney,Rumsfield,Powell and Rice should all be sitting in the cells of the Hague Tribunal.
Bush and Cheney should both be impeached for their abuse of the constitution.
The American media is seen the world over as a pack of yes men,gut less and cowardly.
The media could not keep Bush and his lackeys honest and they(the media) have been duped again by Bush the war criminal trying to be Bush the peace maker.
No matter how often Bush washes his hands he will never get the blood off.