There is no peace process. There are only Palestinian demands. Witness the latest interview with Ahmed Qureia:
Qureia: “The Right of Return is one of the Palestinians’ rights. The question of how to relate to this right is up for negotiations. We have to find a balanced formula. Do not believe anyone who presents you with any position on this matter before we see the agreement’s bottom line. This is one of the rights along with self-determination, the establishment of an independent state with its capital in Jerusalem. All these are elements of a comprehensive arrangement and it would be wrong to select one element and discuss it. You’ve got to see the whole package that includes, also, normalization and security.”
Do you insist on Palestinian sovereignty over Haram al-Sharif?
Qureia: “Of course. It’s the second most important place for the Muslim world.”
And there’s this:
Do you insist on rejecting Netanyahu’s demand that you recognize Israel as a Jewish state?
Qureia: “Livni raised that as well and we said it was not our business. Call your state whatever you wish – democratic or non-democratic, Jewish or non-Jewish. It’s not fair to demand that we recognize you as the state of the Jewish people because that means an evacuation of the Arabs from Israel and a predetermination of refugees’ future, before the negotiations are over. Our refusal is adamant.”
Five years ago Arafat said, in an interview with Haaretz, that he understands Israel is a Jewish state.
Qureia: “But he did not provide it [in writing].”
In the interview, Qureia says that Israelis can become citizens of the Palestinian state. Now that’s a first, and evidently, this is the tack they’re going to take with Obama. Because yeah, that’ll fly.
Qureia: “Negotiating the annexation of Ariel to Israel is a waste of time. Ma’aleh Adumim and Givat Ze’ev must also be part of Palestine. Any agreement must guarantee our territorial contiguity; leave historical sites in our hands, especially Jerusalem, as well as natural resources, especially water.”
Do you believe Israel would agree to evacuate Ma’aleh Adumim’s 35,000 residents?
Qureia: “[Former U.S. secretary of state] Condoleezza Rice told me she understood our position about Ariel but that Ma’aleh Adumim was a different matter. I told her, and Livni, that those residents of Ma’aleh Adumim or Ariel who would rather stay in their homes could live under Palestinian rule and law, just like the Israeli Arabs who live among you. They could hold Palestinian and Israeli nationalities. If they want it – welcome. Israeli settlements in the heart of the territories would be a recipe for problems. Israel evacuated all the settlements in Yamit and in the Gaza Strip. All the prime ministers who negotiated with Syria, including Netanyahu, agreed to evacuate all the settlements from [the Golan] Heights. So why is it so difficult for you to evacuate the settlements in the West Bank?
Note that they’re claiming, of course, Jewish sites in Jerusalem as part of the Palestinian capital. They’re refusing any Jewish claim to the Temple Mount, and apparently inflating the value of the mosque. In the interview, Qureia calls it the second-holiest Islamic site. Funny, I thought that was Medina.
There will not be peace in my lifetime. I’m thinking there will not be peace until the moshiach arrives.
Let us say that there will be peace in our time because the moshiach will arrive bimheira beyameinu
Sadly, I agree with you, the Arab “peace plan” is strictly lip service.
Its “piece by piece” of Israel until they think they are strong enough,
not peace with Israel.
I should also point out that “territorial integrity” for the Arab terror state means cutting Israel in two. Once that is done, they will claim that Israel is not a valid state because it “does not have territorial integrity”