Daily Alert Archives

Deep Disagreement Remains on Final-Status Issues

[Jerusalem Post] Yossi Alpher - Today the Oslo legal framework, embodied in the Palestinian Authority, continues to prevail at least on the West Bank. Yet since 1993, the Palestinians have failed spectacularly at state-building: corruption, cronyism, poor leadership and endemic violence have too often characterized the efforts of the ruling national movement. Nor does that movement, Fatah, still control all the territory designated for its state; it must now search for ways to share power with Hamas, which rejects the very premise of Oslo. One misconception that has been nurtured by Oslo is the notion that "the outlines of a two-state solution are clear; all we need are leaders capable of signing." It's not true. Indeed, the depth of disagreement becomes clear every time the two sides tackle the final-status issues. They do not agree on Jerusalem, and they are far apart regarding the right of return of the 1948 refugees. Even the path of the border between Israel and a Palestinian state still defies agreement. In addition, every Israeli government for the past 41 years has employed economic carrots and sticks in a vain effort to influence Palestinian political behavior. We see this concept at work today in the sanctions and blockade that are supposed to bring Hamas to its knees in Gaza and the contrasting investment in development in the West Bank that is supposed to constitute a peace-incentive. Neither tactic has had an appreciable effect: this conflict is political, ideological and territorial - not economic. The writer is a former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University.
2008-11-07 01:00:00
Full Article