Quartet suggests reopening PLO institutions in East Jerusalem

Stop rewarding arab intransigence. Orient house was operated as a gov't seat in direct intentional vio;ation of Oslo. mary robinson from Ireland specifically went there as a show of support of arafat and of distain towards Israel.she was the first of many. This course of action is clearly designed to support the division of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was never an arab or muslim capital nor was the "far mosque" there Jerusalem was under Christian control during mohameds life and for about50 years. Under arab control Jerusalem was a neglected backwater. The Kotel plaza was a garbage dump and alasqua was nothing special, even under jordanian rule

Where is Palestine there is no such place? NAME THE INTERNATIONAL LAW THAT SAYS EAST JERUSALEM BELONGS TO PALESTINE? It never belonged the the arabs, the only reason Jordan had the east of the city after ethnicly cleaning its jewish majority is a result of a the 1949 ceasefire. The non binding resolution 181 which never name into force the way it was foreseen by the UN because the arabs rejected partition. When the war was over Israel was left with 78% of mandate Palestine rather than the proposed 51%, Jordan got the remaining 22% & there was no arab state created Under 181 Jerusalem was going to be some kind of international ( east, west, north and south ) along with all the holy places was supposed to be some kind of international entity. After the war in 1949 Jerusalem was divided between Israel & Jordan. There is certainly no way Israel is ever going to allow the city to become an international entity as the UN planned in 181 Israel should leave the UN anyway.

East Jerusalem belongs to Palestine. It is not Israel's decision.

What do Jews need from Jerusalem? Access to the Wailing Wall? The Jewish Quarter? And what else? Nothing. In reality, "Jerusalem" has become vast tracts of land that were never Jerusalem at all. Let's start by leaving those alone and including them in the freeze. The price we will pay for hanging onto them at all costs could lose us - already has lost us - much more than our tortured, fragmented, so-called united capital city.

The arabs have absolutely no claim to Yerushaliem, the capital of Am Yisroel forever.

Reopening that place is tantamount to Israel saying we agree to sell you Jerusalem. If Abbas doesn't want to start talking then fine he is the one who will be loosing out because its his people that want Israel to give up land so theu can have a state. If he doesn't want to talk then find don't complain about Israels policies which are damaging to your interests. Let Abbas either come to the negotiating table saying no strings attached or stay away, why should Israel make all kinds of concessions bagging Abbas tom come and talk with us so we can negotiate what we are going to give him? Time to accept its not Bibi responsible for the stalled talks its Abbas for his high and mighty attitude he developed because Obama led him to believe all he needed to do was draw up a list of demands and Obama would make sure Israel delivered on every single one of them. The more that they talk about getting Israel to make concessions to restart thing the harder it becomes to talk.

Israel needs to realize it's goals of eliminating Arab presence is not going to happen. If peace is desired Israel needs to make more sacrifices. Since creation of Israel, how much did Arabs lose. If Israel gives a little it will mean a lot.

Really? Better tell that to the millions living comfortably eleswhere - New York for instance!

You mean that Mitchell is actually telling the Palestinians they have to concede to Israel's demands simply because they won't give in?(re Settlement freeze) What sort of mediation is that? I wonder what aspect of the Palestinian demands will he be telling Israel they have to concede because the Palestinians won't give way? None of course!Mitchell's credibility is on the line if you ask me!

if the palestinians do not want to negotiate, then they should get absolutely nothing from israel.

"At that point in the meeting, the reopening of Orient House - which Israel closed in 2001 - was suggested as a way of restarting peace talks." In the past, Israel has either demanded that others accept her pre-conditions for peace talks, or she has stated that there is no one to talk with about peace. Well, at last! Someone has suggested that Israel DO something to encourgae peace talks! I wonder if Mitchell can talk Hillary or Obama to go along with this?

Has the EU legalized marijuana? They must be smoking something to think that Israel will halt it's program to force all Palestinians out of East Jerusalem much less allow the reopening of any institutions. It is most curious that if one suggests that Israel has the right to expunge non-Jewish residents of East Jerusalem or Judea and Samaria you will be certainly published by Haarets. If one suggests that the goal of Israel is to expunge the Arab residents of East Jerusalem as well as Judea and Samaria then the post will usually censored. What IS the difference? It is whether the post is made approving of the policy or questioning it. It is the questioning which must be censored, not the goal. The goal will be printed as gospel.

Why would Israel allow the Orient house to reopen? Israel has learned its lesson the hard way, each time Israel gives in to the Pals raise the ante. If they wanted peace, it would have been achieved long ago, what they want is all of Israel and they say it clear and laud.

Why do you try again and again, Jerusalem is not for sale. This is the only place for Jews. Arabs have Mecca and Medina, Christians have Rome. Every body is welcome to workship freely in J'lem but sovereinty is of the Jewish people. Since it is under IL's sovereignty there was not such a workship freedom ! Moslems knows it. Imagine it is given to Arabic and Islamic Pal, jews will not have any access to it. Now that it is in the hands of IL, jews cannot even enter on the mount to pray even away from the Temple delimited area, imagine the rest. Those who do not care about J'lem should go to Birobidjan.

(1) Let the gang of 4 move embassies to Jerusalem and rent rooms to the terrorists; or (2) let the gang of 4 go to hell.