A thousand accounts of the accord have preceded it from every point in the political spectrum, not to mention the elaborate sound-and-light show in Geneva itself, with a cast including Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela, Lech Walesa and even Richard Dreyfuss. We have learnt to be wary of stage-managed productions, from Clinton, Rabin and Arafat on the White House lawn in 1993 to Bush, Sharon and Abu Mazen in Aqaba in 2003. In the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestinians are being killed and maimed every day. Time is of the essence. Maher Mughrabi comments from Australia. Read more about Who can say 'yes' to the Geneva Accord?
An Israeli official recently called for controls on the ability of Palestinians to have babies, and said the delivery rooms where Arabs are born are the “factory for a backward population.” This panicked response to what many Israelis see as a “demographic threat” from Palestinians fits the international legal definition of incitement to genocide. Meanwhile, leftist Israelis are debating ways to “withdraw” from Palestinians lands while keeping most of the settlers in place, and preserving a “Jewish democracy.” EI’s Ali Abunimah asks if any of these schemes can save Israel from a binational future. Read more about Can Israel escape a binational future?
As feared, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s speech on Thursday, December 18 at the Herzliya Conference provided very little hope for 2004. Sharon acknowledged there will be a Palestinian state, thereby recognizing Israel cannot control all the land between the river and the sea, but said nothing about the size of the Palestinian state. He offered no tangible vision for the Palestinians to latch on to which suggested that after decades this man is now addressing Palestinian concerns seriously. Michael Brown analyses the content of Sharon’s speech at the Herzliya Conference. Read more about Sharon's hopeless vision
Not quite a deus ex machina, the Geneva Accord demonstrates the manifest inability of elements within both the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Israeli ‘Left’ to fight for a just resolution to the over 100 year Zionist enterprise in Palestine. Palestinians who desire to negotiate with Israeli politicians face an intractable problem. All Israeli officials who are capable of negotiating (i.e., who are elected to the position of Prime Minister) are ardent Zionists. Yossi Beilin, the main Israeli proponent of the Geneva Accord, worries about the demographic growth of the Palestinian community relative to that of the Jewish Israelis. Brock Bevan comments. Read more about Geneva Accord: Relapse to Structural Discord for Beilin "Absolutely Kosher."
Fifty-five years have past since the United Nations set forth the specific framework for resolving the Palestinian refugee case. On December 11, 1948, the UN adopted resolution 194, affirming their right to return to their homes of origin, property restitution and compensation for losses and damages. Palestinian refugees should be free to seek their right to repatriation, regardless of what negotiators acquiesces to. Rifat Odeh Kassis comments. Read more about The right of return and the right of choice
The two-state solution might have been possible some years ago. Not any more. Rifat Odeh Kassis concludes that the realties, which Israel itself created on the ground are beyond the scope of honest co-existence simply because too much water has flowed under the bridge of this conflict. In the aftermath of Oslo, it became apparent that Israel was quite unwilling to countenance even some objective essentials and fundamentals in the route to peace. To persist with the idea of a two-state solution is to ignore reality. Read more about One democratic state might be the solution (2/2)
The two-state solution might have been possible some years ago. Not any more. Rifat Odeh Kassis concludes that the realties, which Israel itself created on the ground are beyond the scope of honest co-existence simply because too much water has flowed under the bridge of this conflict. In the aftermath of Oslo, it became apparent that Israel was quite unwilling to countenance even some objective essentials and fundamentals in the route to peace. To persist with the idea of a two-state solution is to ignore reality. Read more about One democratic state might be the solution (1/2)
It has been almost two months since the last deadly attack on Israeli civilians by a Palestinian suicide bomber, but in the meantime, the Israeli army has killed more than 70 Palestinians, among them 17 children. Amidst the hopelessness, some people have turned to the so-called “Geneva Accord” as a way out. In his commentary published in The Chicago Tribune, EI’s Ali Abunimah says that the accord offers only false hope, however, he sees prospects for long-term peace between Israelis and Palestinians in their common homeland. Read more about The False Hope of the Geneva Accord
Fifty-five years of historical injustice does not subside with the signing of a peace treaty, official or unofficial, whatever the extent of public relations invested in the effort. Prospects for peace must start to be measured by how well justice is served, and not by how much fanfare is generated. To put the Palestinians and Israelis on the track toward historic reconciliation, Sam Bahour argues that Israel must stop holding the region hostage. It must begin by unilaterally ending the illegal occupation of Palestinians and working to establish a Palestinian state based on internationally accepted borders and international legitimacy. Read more about Can It Ever Really End?
One wonders why the Geneva Accord has not created any serious debate inside the Palestinian community. For the past three decades, tens if not hundreds of initiatives have been launched and each new one has claimed that it is better than the previous initiative. In almost every Arab summit since the early eighties, there has been a peace initiative that did not see the light of day for various and sundry reasons; the most prevalent reason has been the continuous Israeli rejection of Arab peace plans. Rifat Odeh Kassis calls for implementation, no more new ideas. Read more about No more ideas, we need implementation
