Parameters for a Final Peace Agreement between Israel and the PA

Ted Belman
American Thinker
18 July '10

It is safe to say that the purpose of the Netanyahu-Obama meeting on July 6 was to demonstrate that the two are friends and that the U.S.-Israel bond is unbreakable. Obama needed to send such a message going into the November elections, and Netanyahu needed such a message to keep his coalition intact.

That doesn't mean that the settlement freeze will end in September.

Netanyahu announced that he expected direct talks to start within weeks, and Saeb Erekat announced that the PA wants the freeze to continue and wants guarantees that the direct talks will result in "the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the lands captured in the 1967 war and small territory exchanges to solve the problem of the settlements."

It is entirely possible that Obama will broker a deal whereby the PA agrees to talks in exchange for a continuation of the freeze in whole or in part. It is less likely that Obama will give such a guarantee.

Many people argue that we know what the ultimate deal will look like -- namely the creation of an independent, viable, contiguous Palestinian state with the '67 borders with minor swaps, a divided Jerusalem, and a just solution to the refugee problem. The truth is quite the opposite.

The peace process began with UNSC Resolution 242, whose goal it was to achieve a "peaceful and accepted settlement." Thus, any settlement must be agreed upon and not imposed. The resolution required "[w]ithdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict." There was much debate before this language was adopted by the UNSC, clearly indicating that not all territories must be withdrawn from. In fact, Israel has already withdrawn from more than 90% of such territories in the form of Sinai and Gaza. Little-noticed is that this provision requires no withdrawal from territories occupied in the '48 war of independence.

This resolution also provided that such a settlement must include "termination of all claims or states of belligerency" and the recognition that "every State in the area" has the "right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." This is the basis for Israel demanding an end-of-conflict agreement.

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