Jag medger: jag har inte satt mig in i alla detaljer för och emot palestiniernas FN-ansökan om fullt medlemskap, men mitt hjärta säger mig att det är dags att palestinierna får en egen stat. Jag känner full förståelse och stor sympati för deras FN-ansökan och hoppas att vi inom en snar framtid får se en självständig demokratisk palestinsk rättsstat brevid Israel – som resultat av de oundvikliga förhandlingar som måste återupptas omedelbart i syfte att lösa konflikten. Mitt huvud säger mig att det är ett våghalsigt spel där man inte kan förutse konsekvenserna och bör vara försiktig, samtidigt som man på alla sätt måste söka en väg framåt.
Rekommenderad läsning: Q&A med Aluf Benn i Haaretz. Kort, kärvt och kunnigt.
Q: Do you think it may be dangerous for Israel if a Palestinian state is approved by the UN without a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue? What should Israel do to ensure that this issue is resolved without threatening the Jewish demographic majority in Israel? Is the PA like to abdicate to the return of the refugees to Israel with the creation of a Palestinian state?
A: That’s the core of future negotiations. Even if the PA abdicates, would the Palestinians in Syria or Lebanon accept it, or launch a ”PLO 2″ struggle? The current resolution cannot ”resolve” the refugee issue beyond some ambiguous diplomatic lingo.
F d premärminister (Kadima, ex-Likud) Ehud Olmerts op-ed i NYT, ”Peace now – or never”. Alla ni som påstår att palestinierna ”vägrar” förhandla bör minnas att varken israeler eller palestinier vägrade att förhandla när vi hade en Kadimaregering. Och minnas att det var Ehud Barak och ingen annan som tvingade Olmert ifrån sin post. ”
”The time for true leadership has come. Leadership is tested not by one’s capacity to survive politically but by the ability to make tough decisions in trying times. When I addressed international forums as prime minister, the Israeli people expected me to present bold political initiatives that would bring peace — not arguments outlining why achieving peace now is not possible. Today, such an initiative is more necessary than ever to prove to the world that Israel is a peace-seeking country.
The window of opportunity is limited. Israel will not always find itself sitting across the table from Palestinian leaders like Mr. Abbas and the prime minister, Salam Fayyad, who object to terrorism and want peace. Indeed, future Palestinian leaders might abandon the idea of two states and seek a one-state solution, making reconciliation impossible. Now is the time. There will be no better one. I hope that Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas will meet the challenge.”
F d socialminister (Arbetarpartiet) och ledamot i Knessets utskott för utrikes- och säkerhetsfrågor Isaac Herzog i Foreign Affairs, ”Why Israel should vote for Palestinian independence”:
”The peace process between Israel and the Palestinians has all but disintegrated over the past two years. The cooperative spirit of the Oslo process during the 1990s and the two rounds of serious permanent status negotiations over the last decade gave way to mutual distrust and blame.
This stalemate has proven dangerous to Israel. It has energized radicals on both sides of the conflict, fueled anti-Israel sentiment, harmed Israel’s international status, and jeopardized Israel’s alliances. But rather than attempt to break the deadlock and rescue Israel from these debilitating circumstances, Israel’s current leadership has resisted taking the lead. Last September, for example, Netanyahu refused U.S. President Barack Obama’s request that Israel extend its ten-month settlement freeze for an additional 60 to 90 days, harming Israel’s relations with its most important ally and painting the country as an obstacle to peace. Should Israel continue down this road, it may risk having a final settlement imposed on it by the international community.
To reverse course and revive the peace process, Israel should support Palestinian aspirations at the UN — but only in exchange for several preconditions to be agreed on with the Palestinians, who bear equal responsibility for moving negotiations forward.”
