|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.bostonherald.com/opinion/op_ed/2016/05/jeff_robbins_paris_peace_talks_the_usual_charade
Paris "Peace" Talks the Usual Charade
(Boston Herald) Jeff Robbins - This Friday the French government is convening a one-day "peace conference" in Paris to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Eager to curry favor with its large Muslim population in advance of upcoming elections, France recently backed a Palestinian resolution in UNESCO denying any link between Jews and Jerusalem's Temple Mount. The French have said that their purpose is "saving the two-state solution" and "bringing the parties back to the negotiating table." This is a head-scratcher, since the Palestinians have repeatedly rejected the two-state solution and have refused to negotiate with Israel for many years now, rejecting its request for negotiations as recently as last week. "The Palestinians are not able to agree to any resolution that doesn't involve them getting 100% of what they want," says David Roet, Israel's deputy permanent representative to the UN. In 2000, 2001 and 2008 they were offered an independent state on virtually all of the West Bank, all of Gaza and a capital in east Jerusalem. They said "no." The writer is a former U.S. delegate to the UN Human Rights Council.