Israel/Palestine
Related: About this forumIsrael's New 'Jewish State' Threatens To Derail Peace Talks
Palestinians Suggest Netanyahu Seeks To Avoid Signing DealBy Reuters
Published March 05, 2014.
When peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians resumed last July, everyone assumed that the main sticking points would remain, as ever, security, borders, the status of Jerusalem and the plight of refugees.
It looks like everyone was wrong.
As the United States struggles to put together a framework deal that will allow negotiations to proceed beyond an initial April deadline, they have run into an unexpected roadblock - Israels firm demand to be recognised as a specifically Jewish state and the Palestinians adamant rejection of any such idea.
Although all the old, tangible issues remain unresolved, suddenly a conceptual one has become the major stumbling point; and one drenched in history and mutual recrimination.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said repeatedly during a visit to the United States this week that to secure peace, he needs Palestinian recognition, arguing that the issue goes to the heart of the generations-old conflict.
Read more: http://forward.com/articles/193862/israels-new-jewish-state-threatens-to-derail-peace/?p=all#ixzz2v8UEVJ5h
mike_c
(36,281 posts)aranthus
(3,385 posts)that the Palestinian refusal to recognize the right of the Jews to be in Israel is the major stumbling block, especially since that was the cause of the war in the first place. Still, even though Israel has the right to that recognition, it doesn't help to demand something that the other side can never agree to. Palestinians should take a lesson about that as well and drop the demand for right of return.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)it's been demanded. It is an underhanded move by Bibi, and Israel does not recognize itself
officially as a Jewish state..nor does the US, Egypt, nor Jordan.
Thus far, under the Kerry Plan they appear to be screwed, period...we'll see.
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)Israel passed a law last week separating and categorizing Arabs (Palestinians) with Israeli citizenship based on their religious affiliation one for Christians and another for Muslims of whom one of the laws pronates said were a "natural enemy of the state" this IMO is a harbinger of what's to come
http://972mag.com/new-law-seeks-to-divide-christian-muslim-arabs/87705/
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)It seems to me their demand for Jewish state recognition is about taking no responsibility
for refugees and this law would be in addition to it..what do you think?
I'm not seeing it as an either or.
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)the future fate of Israeli Arabs is not which was my point, also as has been pointed out here there is also a punitive angle submission if you will
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)tells me RoR will be negotiated.
I hope you're right.
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)that said there has been little actual negotiation of anything
aranthus
(3,385 posts)Everything that the Palestinians and their supporters have said about it confirms that.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)aranthus
(3,385 posts)What's to negotiate? The Palestinians demand recognition of RoR as an existential issue to them, which means that they aren't going to drop that demand in exchange for something else. They can't. And the Israelis can't agree to it because it's an existential issue to them. Where is the middle ground to negotiate on the issue?
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)as a Jewish state. The UN resolution always called for a resolve to the RoR...it was never
going to be full. If Abbas agrees to this demand, it only exists to relieve Bibi of
any responsibilities..an agreed upon number and compensation.
aranthus
(3,385 posts)What they would not have is any argument that such a right to return could be enforced, even if Israel were to recognize it.
[font color=blue]The UN resolution always called for a resolve to the RoR...[/font] Not really. It called for resolution of the refugee issue and recommended that those who were willing to return and live in peace should be allowed to. That isn't the same as calling for a RoR. And since General Assembly resolutions aren't binding, there is no way that the UNGA can call for or create such a right.
[font color=blue]it was never going to be full.[/font] What else could it be? Do you have only a partial right to live? Of course not. And remember that the RoR is individual. So any quota on who could return would be a denial of the RoR to those who were kept out.
And nothing of this has any effect on right to compensation. Now, could Israel agree to take back some Palestinians? I think it could. What it can't ever do is agree that there is a right to return.