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Israel Opposes "Borders First" Approach to Palestinian Negotiations

(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon and Khaled Abu Toameh - It has been widely reported that the issue of permanent borders would be the first one tackled in future Israeli-Palestinian talks - the idea being that once they are decided upon, this would resolve the issue of settlement building since Israel would clearly be able to build in areas inside the negotiated border. But the problem with that approach, according to a senior official in Jerusalem, is that Israel would be relinquishing land without getting anything in return. "In this case you give up territorial assets, and what have you done?" asked the official. "You haven't ended the conflict, and haven't dealt with refugees or Jerusalem. This idea is a nonstarter." The official said the idea that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed must be the guiding principle in future talks, just as it has been in previous rounds. Prime Minister Netanyahu said Monday that Palestinian preconditions for talks had wasted precious time: "I believe that negotiations about the nature of negotiations have delayed the process enough and should be dropped."
2010-01-05 09:42:55
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