In a potential break-through for American diplomacy under the Obama Administration, Haaretz reports: "Indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority may begin as early as Sunday, Haaretz had learned. U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell will land in Israel on Saturday night, and the American administration is hoping the sides will declare the beginning of indirect talks the following morning, ahead of the arrival of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Monday."
Consistent with the Haaretz report, the New York Times reports: " Arab League foreign ministers on Wednesday approved an American proposal that Palestinians hold indirect talks with Israelis, a move that could help restart direct discussions between the two sides that broke down more than a year ago."
The Times quotes chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat as saying: "The Arab foreign ministers are all not convinced with Netanyahu, but they decided to give Obama the chance."
According to Haaretz: "The announcement came after heavy American, Egyptian, Jordanian and Saudi pressure was put on the Palestinians and on other members of the League. The pressure also resulted in the Palestinians' withdrawing a much tougher and reserved statement about the negotiations than the one eventually released. The Arab League decision was not unanimous and was strongly contested by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, who went as far as to interrupt when Amr Moussa, the secretary general of the Arab League, was reading out the statement, to say the decision on entering negotiations rested ultimately with the PA[Palestinian Authority]."
Haaretz and the Times agree, as Haaretz writes: "The foreign ministers set a four-month deadline for the first phase of indirect negotiations after which the Arab League will assess the progress of the talks and decide whether to offer further support."
Anyone with eyes in her head knows the essential shape that a successful peace treaty will have to take, namely, the (President) Clinton Parameters of December 2000, quite possibly as elaborated in the Geneva Accord, a joint Israeli-Palestinian model peace treaty, agreed in October 2003 by senior Israeli and Palestinian figures.
Our task, I suggest, at least the task for those of us who care about achieving peace and promoting the well-being of Israelis and Palestinians alike, is to encourage and support our government's efforts to to foster a "two states for two peoples" peace settlement. Palestinians need credible assurances that they will gain a state, with its capital in (east) Jerusalem, comprising the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, subject to minor, agreed territorial swaps with Israel. Israelis need credible assurances that the peace settlement will settle all outstanding claims, and will not jeopardize Israel's legitimate security interests.
As background, I offer the following details about the Geneva Accords.
Accord Principles
* End of conflict. End of all claims.
* Mutual recognition of Israeli and Palestinian right to two separate states.
* A final, agreed upon border [based on the 1967 lines (or Green Line) with minor, mutual modifications].
* A comprehensive solution to the refugee problem [giving each Palestinian refugee options from 5 permanent places residence – the Palestinian State with its new swapped lands will be open to all, other options, Israel included, are at the sovereign discretion of the State concerned. Refugees will receive compensation and an international body established to oversee this entire process].
* Large settlement blocks and most of the settlers are annexed to Israel, as part of a 1:1 land swap.
* Recognition of the Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and recognition of the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital [with each side’s holy places fully under its sovereignty].
* A demilitarized Palestinian state.
* A comprehensive and complete Palestinian commitment to fighting terrorism and incitement.
* An international verification group to oversee implementation.
(All insertions within [brackets] are taken from the FAQ.)
Facts on the Ground: the Maps.
A primary concern for each side is how these principles translate into facts on the ground. For example, will Palestine be merely a series of loosely, or entire disconnected, Bantustans? The agreed maps show that the Geneva Accord creates a territorially viable Palestinian state, with only minor border modifications, and geographic contiguity within the West Bank portion of the state. In particular, the treaty satisfies the Palestinian demand that territorial negotiations start from the June 4, 1967, lines, that is, just before the Six-Day War. Recognizing the practical need for modifications, it also recognizes a principle of equality: first, modifications will be reciprocal; second, the territory exchange will be on a 1:1 basis. To promote functional contiguity between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, in addition to geographic contiguity within each part of Palestine, the treaty provides for a corridor -- not shown on the maps -- between the two regions.
Here are the details for Greater Jerusalem:
Here are maps showing the enlargement of the southern West Bank and Gaza:
and