Friday, July 23, 2010

[Autonomy?]Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Netanyahu and Direct Talks with the Palestinians


Dr. Aaron Lerner
IMRA
20 July '10

[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: Consider the significance that the words "sovereign" and "independent" have absolutely never been included in PM Binyamin Netanyahu's description of a Palestinian "state". Perhaps because the only realistic solution is that a Palestinian "state" be an "autonomous state".]

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Netanyahu and Direct Talks with the Palestinians INSS Insight, July 19, 2010
Shalom, Zaki

www.inss.org.il/publications.php?cat=21&incat=&read=4247

Listening to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s remarks the past few months regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, one cannot help but wonder: Netanyahu seems to be going out of his way to open direct negotiations with the Palestinians as soon as possible. The prime minister has said he is aiming for intensive negotiations toward a comprehensive settlement (the “agreement in stages” approach, explains Netanyahu, has failed and will not resume). According to Netanyahu, the situation in the Middle East is “fluid” and the future of key states like Iran, Turkey, and Egypt is unclear. This volatile state of affairs, he stressed, provides a window of opportunity to reach an agreement, and therefore it is incumbent on the Palestinians to abandon their belief/illusion that a third party, i.e., the United States, will drop a ready-made agreement into their hands. There is no substitute for direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

From this it might appear that Netanyahu believes that an Israeli-Palestinian agreement is within reach; that the Palestinian side is actually capable of implementing an agreement; and that Netanyahu and his government have the capability to implement an agreement at an acceptable political price. However, it is highly doubtful that these assumptions drive Netanyahu’s assessment.

(Read full article)

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