tweakabelle
Posts: 7522
Joined: 10/16/2007 From: Sydney Australia Status: offline
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i do agree that the 1919 Agreement is simply unenforceable today. Personally i see no reason why Jerusalem ought to belong 100% to anyone. On a more practical level, the status of Jerusalem, no matter how it is set out, is going to be difficult to resolve, Do you see the Palestinians ever accepting that? They are prepared to accept East Jerusalem, and until 1967 so was Israel. But i find it difficult to envisage them agreeing to anything that requires them to concede their claim to Jerusalem in toto in perpetuity. Nor quite frankly do i see why they should be asked to do so. I really don't see it as a tough issue to resolve the kinds of concerns you expressed (vandalism of Jewish buildings etc) within this framework. Rather it strikes me as the kind of thing that is easily resolved where there is a will on both sides, and in the context of an overall peace plan, the concerns you express seem to me to be relatively minor. It does seem to me that some kind of special status for the Wailing Wall, the Al-Asqa Mosque and all the major religious sites that would guarantee safe access and security to all wouldn't be too hard to work out. A little bit of something for everyone offers a way forward for all. All of nothing for any one side doesn't inspire any optimism in me. I have no idea why you feel Hebron deserves a special status. As a general principle, having isolated little pockets of Israel or Palestine totally surrounded by the other side should be avoided. Look at the existing problems with Gaza. It would be all too easy for extremists on either side to problemmatise the status or living conditions of "our people" surrounded by "them" and turn it into a causus belli. As regards the military issues you bring up .... demilitarized borders, an international presence enforcing the demilitarized zones until such time as both sides develop enough trust in each other ought to allay most of these concerns. It seems important to me that as much of the Middle East as possible becomes a nuclear free zone, if only to prevent external meddling. The best long term guarantee of peace and security is mutual economic dependence and prosperity - as i believe the example of the EU shows. So my emphasis would be towards ensuring mutual economic prosperity as the best security guarantee in the long term. Love to all
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