American UN envoy to Israel: Relaunch Mideast talks now

...opportunity" for peace making, coined Abba Ebban the statement many decades ago. What an accurate observation that never fails to describe reality!

This is about talks between the PLO/PA and Israel. Gilad Shalit is important, but entirely out of the control of the PA/PLO. So what does he or the ICRC have to do with the price of eggs in China? Israel won't talk to Hamas who has him and appears to oppose any Palestinian unity which might free him or get him better treatment. Maybe it's time for the US to use one of its Gaza cards to bring Erekat to the table. It has several and they can make either the PA/PLO or Israeli government very uncomfortable, dependeing on which one is used and how.

Is it me or did I read here yesterday that the Pals will not talk to Israel only the US. Enough said, Israel has no one to talk to, goodbye Pals, good work. It's time Erekat and his useless goons from Fatah get a new playbook, the one they have used since 1964 is as bad as the one the St. Louis rams are using.

If B. Hussein Obama wanta a second term he'd better jump through the hoop to get the biscuit.

Screw the ICOJ. From the begining they hated the Jewish people and will do everything to belittle, humiliate and/or denegrate them. I have an opinion of this Facist court...desolve permanently and go get a real job.

existed, not its right to do so. And without them accepting Israel's right to be, to exist as the nation-state of the Jewish people, there is no guarantee they will not attempt, backed up by the rest of the Arab and Muslim countries, to once again wipe Israel off the face of earth. The Arab "Peace Proposal" of 2002 is even worse. It states that the Arabs will accept Israel's existence but only if Israel meet all of their demands, one of which is to flood the country with millions of Arabs. Still no recognition of Israel's right to exist, and certainly not as the nation-state of the Jewish people, neither now nor in the future. P.S. Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people based on a UN resolution which enabled our people to re-establish sovereignty over our ancestral homeland. To this day, the Arabs, Palestinians and otherwise, refuse to recognize our right to have our nation-state on any parcel of land of this country. They are the ones who should be addressed, not Israel.

Using a basketball analogy, the US Adminstration will push for peace every day for the remaining 1,000 plus days left on Obama's 1st term. Never before has the USA been so engaged at the top level of government. The reason is clear. USA inational security is tied to solving conflicts in the mid-east; and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a good place to start.

My friend, Israel is there by UN and international law. The conflict will be resolved in that fashion. In 62 years, Israel still doesn't have borders--that's strange in this 21st century. Israel needs to become mordern and join the other countries of the world. Israel is too good of a country to be in this turmoil. Israeli citizens deserve better. The Pal accepted Israel in '93 and the 22 Arab League countries accept Isrel in 2002. That should be enough for Israel; it is for the rest of the world.

The USA's recent action on the Goldstone Report raises concerns about the integrity of the Obama administration. Obama was prepared to suppress a report that provided the Palestinians with leverage in their negotiations. Instead Obama sided with Netanyahu. Obama has also backed off his position on settlements thereby shifting the advantage to Israel. Abbas, Fatah and Hamas should be wary of Obama trying to accomplish a quick and dirty peace for a perceived political victory. In the end the Palestinian government needs to assure a viable, manageable nation-state comes into existance. If a bunch of Palestinian enclaves intersected by Israeli settlements, Israeli exclusive highways and the IDF results, the new Palestinian nation would be a facade which will not endure.

that's for sure.

if the situation were reversed? Of course not. He knows this and is using the delay to buy the time needed to accomplish his stated goal of taking back all of Israel and ejecting the Palestinian "squatters" back into Jordan, where, of course. they all belong. The only question remains, how are they going to get rid of those 3 million PALS. Let's see what happens.

a concise but accurate answer is found. Stop with this propaganda business and examine the reality for what it is and not what you and the people whose cause you advocate wish it to be.

"that Jews, because they are Jewish, not reside in certain neighborhoods, in certain villages and towns" Not because they are Jewish, but because their residence is founded on occupation. The same would apply if they were Christian, Muslim, or what else. Why exclusively Jews, not Israelis generally are concerned, is a question easy to answer.

"The Arabs have been screaming 242 &338 for years, suddenly they realise that they don`t call for a Palestinian state of withdrawal from all land which was won during the `67 war. Are these people for real." Are you for real, david? Talking of "land which was won during war" is a refusal of UNSC res. 242 which could not be more obvious.

certain neighborhoods, in certain villages and towns thus keeping certain regions of the country Jew-free, "cleansed" of its Jewish residents. I know only one phrase that describes this attitude towards a singled-out people, a singled-out race....! But within Israel, where nearly 20% of the population is Palestinian Arabs, Sullivan calls for the whole country to be flooded by additional Palestinian Arabs. I wonder, what is Sullivan's goal in promoting the two ideas...?? P.S. Note, Israel was proclaimed a "Jewish state" based on the UN resolution on the basis of which Israel's sovereignty over the Land was re-established in 1948.

must visit with Gilad Shalit, after which visit Gilad must be released without any preconditions. Without this simple step, little can be expected!!!

UNIFIL is basically an observer force. It's not equipped to fight a war against either Hezbollah, Syria or Israel. I'm talking about the kind of international intervention that took place in Kosovo. I saw it for myself. Massive international military presence, massive international funding. Extremist elements of Serbs and Albanians both at times challenged the international presence but it was so overwhelming, and bsically everybody was so relieved the conflict was over that nothing serious ever happened. Now Kosovo is peaceful, democratic and independent. Palestine could be too. Ultimately, it's the only way you'll ever get peace in the West Bank. What's your alternative?

One of the best analogies yet. Neither freedom or prosperity awaits a 'captive audience' who's told in the mosques to kill Jews. Keep them poor, ignorant and as pawns to oil wealth failure of any human rights. And for them it's so easy, just blame the Jews!! And meanwhile Israel has it all going for her while the muslims have zero, zip, nada but poverty, ignorance and men in gowns who 'create' their own reality, mullah madness.

to know about the UN. Then there is the UNHRC that somehow forgot to ask Hamas to investigate the years of Qassams let alone ask Arabs to look at any compensation, only Israel. Come on Michael,you may mean well in a roundabout sort of way but the UN GA and its NGO's are effectively an Arab rubber stamp. Ebban summarised the UN when they let Nasser mass his troops on the Israeli border "What's the use of an umbrella if it is shut down when it starts to rain"?

She goes to Israel and spews her naivete'.

Ultimately it's the only way, as in Kosovo. At best from Israel's point of view, the West Bank is disputed territory, at worst, it is an occupied territory where Israel has widely breached the laws that govern such occupations. Either way, the UN is the only body capable of sorting the mess out and with the legal capacity to do so. Expecting the Pals to negotiate their freedom from Israel is like expecting a powerless hostage to negotiate his own release from his captors. The UN would take over control and allow negotiations to continue in a more free atmosphere and if that led nowhere, as with Kosovo, it would oversee a peaceful transition to freedom for Palestine, with both Arab and Jewish citizens.

A two-state solution means two states for two peoples, a Jewish state and a Palestinian state. There is already a sizable Arab minority in Israel where they will stay if they choose, of course. Recognition as a Jewish state simply recognizes two states for two peoples and that the Jewish state is not some temporary way station until it is replaced by another Arab state. The Palestinian refugees will return to the Palestinian state, not the Jewish state. At Camp David Barak agreed to full compensation for the refugees and the Palestinians were not offered carved-up cantons but contiguous territory (Morris, One State, Two States, Yale University Press, 2009, p. xii, 138, 174).

Your kind of justice? Would any real court allow him to sit on the case? Have they called for any Arab compensation to Jews for Qassams,Sucide bombings,War of annihilation,the Arab riots,the pogroms?? The properties of a milion Jews confiscated by Arabs?

- 242 does not mention a Palestinian state, but a few years have passed since then and the Palestinians' right to a nation-state WEST of the Jordan river is universally recognized. - 242 does not demand withdrawal from all occupied territory, but as well does not exclude this possibility if agreed upon by the concerned parties. - 242 speaks of secure borders, but as the result of a negotiated agreement and not by unilateral definition what is considered secure. PS. I note you carefully avoid the terms occupation and occupied which are used by 242. Not to your liking?

Lord Caradon (author of 242): "It was from occupied territories that the Resolution called for withdrawal. The test was which territories were occupied. That was a test not possibly subject to any doubt as a matter of fact East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, the Golan and Sinai were occupied in the 1967 conflict. I was on withdrawal from occupied territories that the Resolution insisted." (p.9) "... it was the equal requirements of withdrawal and security on which the Resolution was founded and constructed. One depended on the other. Both were essential." (p.9) "To destroy one side of the balanced whole would destroy the whole." (p.9) "It is surely a matter of the gravest reproach to the principal world powers that, following on the rejection of Ambassador Jarring's efforts, no action was at once taken to give effect to the principles accepted by everyone in the 1967 Resolution. (p.10) "The principal of "inadmissibility of acquisition of territory by war" is clear. That requires a "withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories occupied in the recent conflict." And the Resolution went on to stipulate that withdrawal should be "to secure and recognized boundaries." (p.10) "The attempted annexation of East Jerusalem, repeatedly and unanimously condemned in the United Nations, and the policy of creeping colonization on the West Bank and in Gaza and the Golan have threatened any prospect of settlement and peace." (p.10) "These actions of the Israeli Government are in clear defiance of the Resolution 242." (p.11) "I do not retract the phrase I used long ago about the Israeli settlements in Arab land. They are indeed "signposts of destruction." (p.11) In: Caradon, [Lord] Hugh, et al. U.N. Security Council Resolution 242: A Case Study in Diplomatic Ambiguity. Washington, D.C., Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, 1981.

There will not be peace with the Arabs living west of the Jordan because the Arab leaders in the Middle-East are afraid of peace. We should understand why the leaders in the Arab world do not want peace with Israel. Peace and closer relations with Israel means democracy in the Arab countries, improvement of individual freedom for all, freedom of choice as to religion and education in other words the end of the dictatorship, the end of tyranny in the Arab countries first, and then, in the Muslim countries. Can the Saudi King Abdullah accept this ? can Basher al-Assad accept this ? can Mubarak accept this ? can all the petty tyrants of the Arabic Peninsula accept this, or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ? ?so let?s be realistic: can peace, indeed, be more than just a dream ? Peace with Israel means, also, the abandondment of Jihad, the abandondment of the conquest of the world by Islam. In order to understand what that means consult : http://xrl.us/bi7kq

D: "Do people really think that Israel will sign up for something it it has no benefits." Peace. Recognized borders. End of all outstanding claims. Regional legitimacy. Vastly reduced military budgets. Did I already mention peace? But what's in it for Israel? asks David... Such a nakedly egocentric display of territorial greed would almost be funny, if the results weren't so tragic.

"Calling for the barrier to be removed, and for Arab residents to be compensated for any damage done: The court finds that the construction by Israel of a wall in the occupied Palestinian Territory and its associated regime are contrary to international law.

I think all israelis agree with me. No talks till Gilad Shalit is home and Hamas stops throwing rockets at israel.

Maybe the American UN envoy to Israel can insist that ICRC gets to visit Gilad Shalit. Release Gilad Shalit NOW!!!

at least insist that the ICRC gets to visit Gilad to check up on his situation.

It is time, high time that after 62 years of rejecting Israel's right to exist as the nation-state of the Jewish people; after 62 years of attempting to wipe Israel off the face of earth be it through full-scale wars or in stages, you should take the simple and which does not much bravery and state: Israel is here by right and we accept its right to be, to exist as the nation-state of the Jewish people, and as such we want to consider any peace agreement reached with Israel as the end-of-the-conflict and to live alongside it in peace. Of course, such a statement will have to be made in Arabic and not only in English which most Arabs don't understand, and it will have to be accompanied by deeds that would signify to Arabs and Jews alike that the words uttered have substance behind them.

and failed, and failed... and sanctions are long overdue. it's time for the united states of america to start representing ITSELF in the unsc!

This whole process is really funny. I wonder what they will say when 1967 border lines are reintroduced and Islamic Jihad rockets start falling on Tel Aviv. Enough is Enough already.

The Palestinians chose terrorism as their method of political protest and they must pay a price for that. This dates back to the formation of the PLO in 1964, three years before the six days war. The longer the Palestinians (Hamas, in particular) insist on "armed resistance" as their right, the more land they will lose in the final settlement. If they had chosen to offer peace for land 40 years ago, they would've come out of it with a much bigger chunk of land. You reap what you sow.

"The 1949 armistice lines, the so called Green Line, were broken by the Arabs when they initiated the June 1967 Six-Day War." - Eitan "On October 29, at 16:20 hours, Israel's second war with Egypt began. Sixteen Dakota transport planes, one of which was piloted by a woman, dropped a battalion of Israeli paratroops forty-five miles from the Suez Canal." - A History of the Israeli Army, Zeev Schiff, pg 73, The Sinai Campaign, Israel makes the first move. Missed a few history classes Eitan? "The Israeli attack on Egypt was led by the Air Force, which caught most of the Egyptian planes on the ground. Not one of their airfields escaped the surprise Israeli bombings and the runways were destroyed by special bombs." - ibid, 'The Six-Day War-, page 172 Missed that chapter too didn't you? Your blather might be excused had not the devastating first-strike been bragged up so loudly at the time. Lest you start lying about Mr. Schiff, he was an Israeli. And an IDF Intellience officer.

It will all be over in two years. This is what Netanyahu and Sharon wanted from the beginning. When it is completed the old warrier can close his eyes and breathe his last breath,-- his job will be done. And who is to say that it will not work. Eventually, not soon, both sides will bring an end to the strife.Fifty years from now, when they both tear it down, many will wonder just why it was built in the first place. That is, unless some idiot presses the red button that unleashes the final holocaust on us all. Shalom/Salaam.

A maximalist position is defined in Merriam-Webster as ?one who advocates immediate and direct action to secure the WHOLE of a program or set of goals? Both Don and Zeev obviously feel that the solution to the whole ME problem can be secured by simply giving up some territory by Israel. Only if it were so simple. First and foremost, Israel has actual ownership papers to all of Jerusalem, Judia and Samaria granted by the Council of Nations that had binding powers on other nations going back to the early 20-century to ?establish and reconstitute the Jewish National Home?. The UN Security Council never rescinded this so there is nothing stolen to start with. To talk about ?stolen? and refusal to acknowledge ?the Jewish nature of the State of Israel? is a maximalist position that renders any peace talk useless. Granted, for practical reasons and regardless of the circumstances that led to the current status, Israel should be prepared to accommodate Palestinians by ceding some land that would make State of Palestine a viable concept. But the current large Jewish population centers will stay where they are and continue growing at a natural expansion rates. This is the price Arabs have to pay for 60 years of fighting a loosing war.

Israel just wants to grab more land. Steal more land from the Palestinians. It is a shame the US supports those who occupies other people's lands!

Mohamedans , moslems , Islamists , Arabs or whatever ... name you want to call them , Whether Egypt , Syria , Jordan , Lebanon , Saudia , Iraq ... etc... . are a puch of primitive tribes that have not decided whether Mecca , camels or the sun is a deity .

The inflation is even worst...the real "pals" in the west bank are no more than 300 to 500hundred thousand,in gaza,no more than 150thousand...The rest are professional "refugees" that came after the stipends of the unwra and mobilized by "afatrat"and other "pal leaders" to be employed as cannon fodder,paid by the un...

Yes, Sully, the Americans are fools. Have been for decades. That's why these latest "negotiations" will again go into never-never-land. David

Only the most basic thing. Does the world want another Arab Palestinian state? For 100 years everyone has said no except Israel. If they dont, fine, let them look to Amman as the capital of Jordan Palestine. If yes, the details can be worled out. Everything the PA has shown is they dont want a state, with 1 minor exception, and that is recent, but the PA Fayyad, thats it.

It's about time that an end to settlement construction be made the No 1 condition. Had it ben made the No.1 condition way back at Camp David, we would not now be in such a fix.

yaakov how many years have i told you that you were whistling dixie on skid row !!!

What are these things?? There never was a Palestinian state. Native Jews were called Palestinians until Arabs took over the name in the 60s. There is no such thing as Palestinian tetritories. Jordan is most of the territory known as Palestine throughout the centuries. Look at the maps. The only time the land west of the Jordan was called Mandate Palestine was 22-47, thats it, a measily 25 years. Refugees were called refugees if they lived in the land for 2 years. No other place in the world has that been applied by the UN. They talk about refugees and their decendants. That doesnt apply under international law ANYWHERE, but the JEwish refugees which number more than the Arab refugees do count. Why dont the Arabs count them???? Who is playing with words? and propaganda about history....the Arab world.

The problem is the Arabs say no at every chance they get. Do they want another Arab Palestinian state or not? IF yes, stop fighiting it. If no, disband the PA and start calling Amman the capital of Jordan Palestine. Its really that simple. Israel settled for less tha 20% of the land promised when it was re-created. Arabs must settle for less also. They lost. Get over it and think of your children. Israel has acted in peace. Arab states have acted in war. Time for Arab states and leadership to ACT!!! in PEACE.

... meanwhile Israel is depleting Pal water and other resources... ... and even filching Pal olive harvests in-broad-daylight... ... turnabout of these ugly phenomena would be a good starting point for peace-and-amity between our nations...

"Do people really think that Israel will sign up for something it it has no benefits." Obviously "peace" does not count for you as a benefit. That's exactly what you Jews makes so popular around the globe.

... is pre-ordained to stymie any possible deal... ... the whole point is to stop the settlement bulldozer that is depleting Pal lands and resources... ...settler growth should be directed and organized straight back to Israel sovreign territory, on which there is ample space and resources... ...settlers can even learn how to cultivate their own olive trees, not rob the yields of Pal ancestral olive groves in broad daylight...

"nobody has denied it the right to style itself an Islamic Republic" Nobody denies Israel the right to change its official name into something with "Jewish" in it. If they don't, nobody else should substitute for what they see no reason to do by themselves.

He said he wanted a report mid-October. He didn't say what would happen if he didn't get one he liked. And suddenly, come time to hand in the homework, Israel starts signing up to the process. Miraculous. Even though Netanyahu is as slippery as an eel, Obama will be well aware of that from Bill Clinton and Democrat staffers. Maybe he is not just a good guy on the teleprompter. Maybe he is in the long line of strongly principled Democrat Presidents who put beliefs before pragmatics but don't take any hostages if people mess them around. If so, Netanyahu is well our of his depth. It will be fascinating to see the contest played out between Obama, Bibi and AIPAC, the latter being in practice America's third political party, due to paying congressmen to be supporters and thus a key player.

With foreign entities , including the 5 + 1 UN Security members must not fabricate a arab state in the land of Israel , and may grant the non Israel citizens limited autonomy . Subversion must be countered with jail time and expulsion .

3. Does not call upon Israel to withdraw its armed forces but from "territories", not from all of them Wrong, it DOES call on Israel to withdraw from the territories. The loophole that Zios hope to use use is the difference between the English and French versions, the French saying 'THE' territories, meaning all of them. The best quick legal guide is solicitor John McHugo's one. He compares the lack of the definite article to this wording: Dogs must be kept on the lead near ponds in the park. 'It is clear that such an instruction cannot legitimately be taken to imply that some dogs need not be kept on the lead or that the rule applies only near some ponds.' Beautifully succinct, the meaning is perfectly clear - out Israel, lock stock and barrel. 338 is largely irrelevant, it just backs up 242.

You can jump up and down; beat your chest and scream and cry but everyone knows there will be no discussion of the right of return. The Europeans are against it, the US is against it and the Palestinians know they won't get it.

Will homosexuals be denied citizenship in the "jewish" state? Will "Mischlinge" be a threat to the jewish state? A bright future for these ideologies... Is the "jewish" state going to have a jewish constitution one day? A jewish tradition: Get rid of disabled and sick people...Welcome in prehistory :(

So we will have a couple of countries that define themselves in funny terms. The 'Islamic Republic of Iran' is at least 99.9% accurate as a religious description and is not racist. The 'Jewish State of Israel' is about 50% inclusive religiously, given Muslims, Druze, Christians, Atheists, Agnostics, uninteresteds and assorted Russians - and excludes a quarter of the population if applied as a racial term (which of course it is). It's not even been put to or agreed by the Israeli people, it's just a high-handed, unconstitutional, off-the-cuff deal wrecker dreamed up by Bibi's gang to thwart peace talks. Wishing to be in the same nomenclature league as pariah Iran sure says something about Israeli priorities. One must try, through the partisan cheers, not to be too gullible.

They've been announcing the imminent capitulation of the US and Palestinians all year on every issue. Nobody's capitulated yet. If they sit in the same room and discuss borders, that will be a massive breakthrough. Netanyahu's preconditions, notwithstanding, it will be interesting to see if any recognition happens before the end of a negotiation. Bibi's offer of a state with no sovereignty or security or independence for Palestinians is not likely. Whatever is agreed has to be ratifiable by the Palestinian and Israeli peoples. No backroom secret protocols or bribery of politicians on either side.

Nothing threatens the existence of Israel as a democratic Jewish state so much as the its occupation. Israel and the rest of the world need real peace: 1-Somewhere along the Taba/Geneva/Saudi plans continuum is the only solution. 2-Out of the west bank, Split/share east Jerusalem & old city (more or less Israel gets Jewish quarter at it pre-67 & pre-Jordan razing maximum). 3-Some Palestinian return, and rest be monetary compensated. 4-Syria get Golan back with demilitarized all on their Syrian and Israeli border sides. 5-Rest of Arab World recognizes Israel and establish Diplomatic and Economic Relations. 6-Internationally agreed upon borders for all, returning Sheba Farms to Lebanon. Nothing like actually having to rule, to defang the Islamic extremists. Persian Shiite Iran is not going to do anything after rest the Arab world agrees that peace has been made.

The most important thing to know about 242 and 338 based on it is that it is based on a British Labour Party draft.In 1948 it was only Pakistan and the then Labour government of Britain that recognized Egyptian and Jordanian sovereignty over Gaza Strip and the West Bank.The Labour Government of 1967 simply assumed that Egypt and Jordan would regain sovereignty,but they have now given up their claims leaving the territories in an unresolved status.BUT IT WAS ONLY BRITAIN THAT COULD HAVE DRAFTED 242 LIKE THIS.It's vital to grasp this. There was no Palestinian Arab State,and 242 doesn't envision one. THREE CHEERS FOR ISRAEL!!!

The Arabs have been screaming 242 &338 for years, suddenly they realise that they don't call for a Palestinian state of withdrawal from all land which was won during the '67 war. Are these people for real. Do people really think that Israel will sign up for something it it has no benefits.

Obama, Mitchell and everyone else see it. Unfortunately we all know that the Defacto ruler of the USA is AIPAC. All what Obama does is simply follow orders, just like his predecessors before him. Accepting to even negociate with Israel is the greatest sacrifice palestinians have done....People usually do not negociate what's rightfully theirs. Peace is of Israel's interest first, as it is the only way it will get accepted in its entourage. The empire is not going to last forever....Keep that in mind.

"Israeli officials have said Netanyahu offered Mitchell a freeze on settlement expansion outside of areas around Jerusalem that Israel has annexed that would last nine months. Washington has not commented publicly beyond repeating a desire for an end to settlement activity, as called for under a 2004 interim deal." - Reuters Israel never honored the 2004 interim deal. "But he (Netanyahu) said such a state must be demilitarized and Palestinians have to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, a demand they fear could undermine claims to resettle or compensate Palestinian refugees of a 1948 war over Israel's founding." - ibid And in less than 9 months settlement expansion into Palestine will continue. I got it. The Palestinians get a state incapable of defending itself and Israel gets Judea and Samaria a dunam at a time. No sweat, Bibi's cappy Barak (both of them) will obey.

UNSC Resolution 242 which has governed all peace agreements between Israel and its Muslim-Arab neighbors and negotiations towards peace: 1. Does not call for the establishment of yet another state between the River and the Sea 2. Does not mention even once terms such as "Palestine", "Palestinians", "Palestinian state" 3. Does not call upon Israel to withdraw its armed forces but from "territories", not from all of them 4. Any accommodation, according to 242, must be based on "secure" boundaries The 1949 armistice lines, the so called Green Line, were broken by the Arabs when they initiated the June 1967 Six-Day War. Accepting their demand to return to the same lines after their defeat in that defensive war from Israel's perspective is pathetic. When the Arabs finally accept Israel's right to be, to exist as the nation-state of the Jewish people within secure boundaries will peace reign, not before, and that would have to be based on UNSC Resolution 242 as is.

Whether,Jack Olson likes it or not Israel is a Jewish state.It's the status of Gaza and the West Bank that has to be negotiated,not of the State of Israel.There's plenty of negotiation going on with Iran,but nobody has denied it the right to style itself an Islamic Republic.Even a little country like Malta took a stand against the EU and refused to join until it was assured that its Catholic traditions would be fully respected. THREE CHEERS FOR ISRAEL!!!

Are the Americans fools? Even if netanyahu ageed to freeze West Bank settlements for 9 months, he will continue to expand existing settlelements under the ruse of "natural growth". Expansion around Jerusalem will also be excluded, precluding any possiblity of palestinians making East Jerusalem their capital. Further, this demand that the palestinians recognise Israel as a "Jewish" state means there will be no discussion of the right of return of Palestinian refugees and no discussion of compensation. So what is left? Does Obama not see that? Clinton? Mitchell? Do they not see that Israel is working strenuously toward creating a series of disjointed bantustans with limited autonomy?

What incentive does Israel have to reach a final peace agreement when every year that goes by without an agreement is another year in which they can "create facts on the ground" by building more settlements inside the West Bank? Its like taking bites out of the last piece of pizza while you and a friend argue who gets it. THAT is why any chance for peace requires Israel to actually halt illegal settlement construction, and to prove they are finally serious about it.

"Such a formula could be acceptable to Israel since it interprets those resolutions as falling short of a demand to withdraw from all of the West Bank, territory it captured during the 1967 Six Day War." A formula based on somebody's interpretations which of course run contradictory to somebody else's interpretations is worth what exactly?

Such a formula could be acceptable to Israel since it interprets those resolutions as falling short of a demand to withdraw from all of the West Bank, territory it captured during the 1967 Six Day War. When 242&338 resolutions were issued. Israel made sure that the language suited them for any possible future negotiations and that they will play on the words..( withdrawl from terrotories and not THE terretories) which could mean any piece of land and not all the land occupied. they puzzled moses, you dont think they can puzzle the palestinians!!!!

Netanyahu's demand that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state is a pre-condition, but when did that ever stop an Israeli from making their own one-sided demands. It is also blantantly recist since there is not one other country on the plaent that demands to be considered a Methodist country or a Buddist country. As far as Palestinne being a demilitarized country that isn't a sovereign country then. A sovereign country is allowed to have its own military and engage in treaties with any country it so chooses. These types of demands from Israel only serve to indicate that Israel still wants to be the master of the Palestinians and has no intention of ever seeking peace.

The negotiations must be made with the Palestinians not the United States. Israel has not had a conflict with the US. so any deal with Washington, is useless, since Palestinians need to begin a peaceful coexistence process. Once that happens, then additional negotiations between Israeli representatives and Palestinian representatives are crucial to a continuous dialogue. When an area has been plagued by violence for the last few years, then, somehow, face-to-face encounters are expected. No deals ever work out, if the main players are not the negotiators.

I cannot agree less. Palestinians should push for a single state solution with right to return and equal right to all.

Former Ambassador Yoram Ettinger recently published the results of a detailed population analysis. "An audit of births, deaths, school and voter registration and migration documentation from Israel and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics...exposes a 66 percent distortion in the current number of West Bank (or, Judea and Samaria) Arabs ? 1.55 million and not 2.5 million, as claimed by the Palestinian Authority...Inflated numbers have provided the Palestinians with inflated international foreign aid and inflated water supply by Israel."

When main stream public opinion in the West Bank supports a two state solution, going it alone without Gaza, and minimal right of return into pre-'67 Israel, and when there are no people with guns ready to terrorize Arabs who would make peace on those terms, there will be a two state solution. Until then, this is all just shadow boxing.

When the hell did the Palestinians want a state of their own? Always was Israel who had to "offer" this solution. The answer was always "no".

This is a bit confusing.These Resolutions only touch on the Palestinian Arabs in regard to seeking a solution to the refugee problem,that solution being undefined.The main force of the Resolutions is a peace settlement between Israel and states that existed in 1967 and 1973.There was no Palestinian Arab state in 1967 or 1973.The outstanding issue remains a peace settlement between Israel and Syria. Gaza Strip and the West Bank were territories occupied by Egypt and Jordan and no longer claimed by them.That makes them,now,territories of no defined status.Their final status should be settled by negotiations with no preconditions between Israel and genuine representatives of the Palestinian Arabs who live here. THREE CHEERS FOR ISRAEL!!!

Withdrawal to 1967 lines and east Jerusalem or one state. You don't even need the Palestinians apparently since its being negotiated in DC and Tel Aviv

The palestinians should hard to stay as an integral part of Israel, this way and with time they will become again the majority in their whole country.If the Palestinians will work hard towards this goal, you will find out that Israel will move quickly to separate themselves from the Palestinians. TRY IT.