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President Peres and Dr. Ashrawi: Thank You for Staying on Track
February 9, 2012
We at the Citizens Proposal want to express our appreciation to Israeli President Shimon Peres and to PLO Executive Committee member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi for keeping the issue of borders squarely on the table of foreign policy choices.
Speaking at a special plenum of the Knesset on February 8 honoring its 63 birthday, Peres said that a new future must be outlined with a Jewish State with “safe borders” next to an independent, demilitarized Palestinian state. He spoke of the “painful decisions” that Israel would have to make to achieve that goal. Otherwise, he said, Israel will become a “borderless state of two peoples, which means an ongoing fight between two peoples.”
Israel is facing the unpleasant prospect of a Palestinian unity deal between the PLO and Hamas, which Prime Minister Netanyahu, speaking at that same meeting, called a turn away from peace and towards embracing a terrorist organization. In that context, Peres’s affirmation of the need to negotiate a border should be seen as a positive alternative for Palestinians’ national future.
On the same day, Dr. Ashrawi spoke at a political briefing at the PLO headquarters in Ramallah with lawmakers and officials from Luxemburg and the Netherlands. She noted that the year 2012 would be “a decisive year” that would determine whether a two-state solution could be achieved. She added, “The Palestinians will continue to seek United Nations membership and the multilateral approach to be recognized globally on a land with definite borders, culture, history, institutions and the right to self-determination.”
We continue to believe that securing a negotiated border between Israel and the West Bank is the best way forward, even in the midst of the current chaotic situation with threats from Iran, instability in Syria, the uncertain deal between the PLO and Hamas, and the diplomatic maneuvering at the UN. It is a realistic objective that is within the power of Israel and the Palestinian authority to achieve regardless of anything else that happens to take place.
Moreover, once a border in agreed to and the Palestinian state becomes a reality, all the other issues will become far more manageable.
We at the Citizens Proposal want to express our appreciation to Israeli President Shimon Peres and to PLO Executive Committee member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi for keeping the issue of borders squarely on the table of foreign policy choices.
Speaking at a special plenum of the Knesset on February 8 honoring its 63 birthday, Peres said that a new future must be outlined with a Jewish State with “safe borders” next to an independent, demilitarized Palestinian state. He spoke of the “painful decisions” that Israel would have to make to achieve that goal. Otherwise, he said, Israel will become a “borderless state of two peoples, which means an ongoing fight between two peoples.”
Israel is facing the unpleasant prospect of a Palestinian unity deal between the PLO and Hamas, which Prime Minister Netanyahu, speaking at that same meeting, called a turn away from peace and towards embracing a terrorist organization. In that context, Peres’s affirmation of the need to negotiate a border should be seen as a positive alternative for Palestinians’ national future.
On the same day, Dr. Ashrawi spoke at a political briefing at the PLO headquarters in Ramallah with lawmakers and officials from Luxemburg and the Netherlands. She noted that the year 2012 would be “a decisive year” that would determine whether a two-state solution could be achieved. She added, “The Palestinians will continue to seek United Nations membership and the multilateral approach to be recognized globally on a land with definite borders, culture, history, institutions and the right to self-determination.”
We continue to believe that securing a negotiated border between Israel and the West Bank is the best way forward, even in the midst of the current chaotic situation with threats from Iran, instability in Syria, the uncertain deal between the PLO and Hamas, and the diplomatic maneuvering at the UN. It is a realistic objective that is within the power of Israel and the Palestinian authority to achieve regardless of anything else that happens to take place.
Moreover, once a border in agreed to and the Palestinian state becomes a reality, all the other issues will become far more manageable.