A recent leak from US efforts to restart the Palestinian-Israeli peace
process has made public some shocking revelations, writes Sam Bahour
30-08-2013 02:35PM ET
The first proclaimed leak from US Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts to
resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as it is so often called, were
published last week in the reputable London-based daily Arabic newspaper
Al-Hayat.
The source is said to be from a posting from the website of the Palestinian
Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, which claims the information was leaked
to it by someone attending the tightly closed negotiating sessions. The
validity of this claim and the contents of the leak are unverifiable, and
the infighting between Hamas and Fatah give both a vested interest to
publicly damage the other. However, a read through of the supposedly leaked
information is enough to make anyone familiar with this issue worried.
The Al-Hayat article on the leak states that Kerry obtained Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas's approval on the general parameters for the restart
of negotiations at meetings between the two in Amman on 17-18 July, 2013,
prior to Kerry's announcement that negotiations would restart.
According to the leaked document, "Kerry set a maximum period of time
ranging from six to nine months that would be dedicated to bilateral
Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. without any preconditions," beyond the 11
principles listed below and whereby Jordan participates in meetings on
refugees, Jerusalem and borders where necessary.
These principles are: "the Separation Wall will serve as the security
borders of the 'Jewish' state, and the temporary border of the 'Palestinian'
state. Both parties will acknowledge and announce this;" there will be "an
exchange in disputed territories within the plan of the Separation Wall
noted above, as agreed to by both parties and with the blessing of the Arab
League Follow-up Committee, as specified by this Committee to Mr Kerry
during their last visit to Washington, ranging in size from eight to ten per
cent of West Bank lands;" there will be also be a "freeze in the settlement
projects at a number of outposts, as approved by the Israeli government,
which does not apply to existing projects in large settlement communities
located in the vicinity of Jerusalem and in the Jordan Valley, including the
settlements of Ma'ale Adumim, Givat Ze'ev, Har Homa, Gilo, Neve Yacov, Ramat
Shlomo, Ramat Alman, Kiryat Arba', and other densely populated settlements."
The documents adds that "residents in frozen settlement communities will
have the right to choose between Israeli citizenship, or Palestinian
citizenship, or both, at the conclusion of negotiations," and that "talks
will culminate with a historic agreement. along the lines of the Oslo
Agreement, during which both parties will announce the end of the historic
conflict between their peoples, as well as full normalisation with all Arab
states, at a celebratory meeting attended by the Arab League and
representatives of all Arab countries, announcing their approval of Israel's
establishment of a Palestinian state within the limits set out. above,
according to agreements.. concluded by the two parties at the end of the
negotiations, which will also entail Palestinian recognition of Israel as
the state of the Jewish people."
It says that "at the end of negotiations some Palestinian families will be
allowed to reunite in the West Bank, Rafah and Gaza, while others will have
the right to compensation, or emigration. to Arab countries, especially the
Gulf," where they will be "naturalised. utilising the Right of Return Fund
for this purpose;" and concerning the status of East Jerusalem, the leaked
document indicates that it will be "placed under an international
administration (Palestinian-Israeli-Jordanian) for 10 years, whereby
resident Israelis in East Jerusalem will have the right to choose their
identity," ie, citizenship.
Furthermore, "Israelis and Palestinians agree to discuss the issue of land
exchanges, in the West Bank and Jerusalem, through negotiating committees
despite the non-core points of contention between the two parties.
especially those points that are considered important by the delegation of
the Arab League, including the proposal to grant citizenship to every
Palestinian who has been resident in the Gulf for more than ten years."
The document indicates that there will be a "discussion of executive steps
in this agreement during negotiations within the time-limit mentioned above,
and that its implementation will extend to ten years from the signing of the
agreement;" and that Israel will also "release a number of Palestinian
detainees who have spent twenty years or more in detention, and no longer
pose a security threat."
It also stipulates that "President Mahmoud Abbas will call for legislative
and presidential elections in the West Bank after the public announcement of
the Agreement, in anticipation of the possibility of the emergence of
objections to it, and that the terms of the agreement will not fully be
announced until after the start of negotiations and the preoccupation of
Palestinians with the battles of the Legislative Council and the
Presidency."
It adds that "with the signing of the agreement at the end of the specified
time-limit and the declaration of an independent Palestinian state, the
Palestinians and Jordanians will, with the blessing of Israel and the Arabs,
reach an understanding on the role of Jordanian security assistance. to the
Palestinian Authority. to stand by its side and help it overcome potential
internal or external dangers. as part of a Confederation, which will be
announced in conjunction with a trilateral economic initiative, in which
Israel will play an active role in its formation."
This is shocking, to say the least. If these 11 points are anywhere near the
truth, the region should be preparing for yet further major fall-out, this
time once again in Palestine and Israel.
If the US and Israel continue to choose the game of might is right, then
they should expect, sooner rather than later, a new generation of
Palestinians to look Israel straight in the eye and say, "you win! You get
it all, Israel: Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem, both east and west
parts, all of the settlements, all of the water, all of the Jordan Valley,
all of the electromagnetic spectrum, all of the airspace, and most
importantly, you also get all of us. Now, we heard you have free healthcare
in Israel. Where do we pick up our medical cards? We also want some of that
free education too."
In other words, if the US and Israel are adamant about throwing into the sea
international law, humanitarian law, UN resolutions, human rights, the
rights of refugees, and sheer common sense, then expect the Palestinians to
redefine their self-determination from a struggle for statehood to a
struggle for civil rights between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River.
In the words of the late Palestinian (and global) intellectual, Edward Said,
it's "equality or nothing". What is it about these three simple words that
are so hard to comprehend?
The writer is a Palestinian-American business consultant living in the
Palestinian city of Al-Bireh in the West Bank.
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Received on Fri Aug 30 2013 - 15:24:03 EDT