|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Features/Article.aspx?id=221424
President Obama's Mistake
(Jerusalem Post) Alan M. Dershowitz - President Obama made a serious mistake that tilts the balance against Israel in any future negotiations. Without insisting that the Palestinians give up their absurd claim to have millions of supposed refugees "return" to Israel as a matter of right, he insisted that Israel must surrender all of the areas captured in its defensive war of 1967, subject only to land swaps. This formulation undercuts Resolution 242, passed unanimously by the UN Security Council in the wake of Israel's 1967 victory, which contemplated some territorial adjustments necessary to assure Israel's security against future attacks. Obama's mistake was to insist that Israel give up its card without demanding that the Palestinians give up theirs. If President Obama is to play a positive role in bringing the Palestinians and the Israelis to the negotiating table, he should insist that there be no preconditions to negotiation. The President did not even ask the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table.