For the first time in a very, very, very long time there is a glimmer of hope in the Middle East Peace Talks. Lost amongst all the other news is the progress that U.S. Secretary John Kerry has made in bringing the two sides in the Middle East closer together and actually discussing a path forward.
In the latest round of shuttle diplomacy, the Palestinians have NOT demanded that Israel cease construction of settlement housing being built on disputed lands in order to commence talks on a peace treaty. Instead, the Palestinians have asked that the Israelis agree to use the “general” borders as they were following the 1967 war as the borders up for negotiation of a future Palestinian state. And although Israel has said they will not agree to any preconditions to negotiations, I don’t think agreeing on a starting point is a precondition. The use of the word “general” also further broadens the scope of the border discussion which should lessen the appearance of this being a concession on Israel’s part.
gen•er•al adjective ˈjen-rəl, ˈje-nə-\
Def: Not confined by specialization or careful limitation
- Merriam-Webster (on-line dictionary)
This is huge change in the proposed starting point of any future Middle East talks and I hope that Israeli leaders see this way too. Secretary Kerry has done well to get this change, although seemingly slight, it’s could be a pretty big deal.