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Experts Pessimistic on Chances for Peace Agreement with Palestinians
(Jerusalem Post) Ariel Ben Solomon - Israeli experts and former government officials voiced pessimism regarding the chances for any agreement with the Palestinians at a conference Thursday at Bar-Ilan University's Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA). BESA director Efraim Inbar noted that Asian Muslim countries want relations with Israel, but are not too concerned about the Palestinian issue. The Palestinian economy is better than in much of the Arab world, he added. "The economy of Gaza is better than Egypt." Maj.-Gen. (res.) Uzi Dayan, former IDF deputy chief of staff and Israeli national security adviser, said the Palestinians will not sign an agreement that says it is the end of the conflict. Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaacov Amidror, also a former national security adviser, said that while the Israeli government accepted a Palestinian state, the Palestinians "did not move an inch." Prof. Uzi Arad, another national security adviser, said, "I can't name a single concession of the Palestinians since 1994." "It is now patently clear that no agreement on final status issues is likely," he added. It is not in Israel's interest to take security risks for a deal if it is not in the context of an end of the conflict, he concluded.