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Source: http://www.haaretz.co.il/opinions/.premium-1.3241279
The Paris Peace Conference Reveals the Ignorance of the International Community
(Ha'aretz-Hebrew) Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser - Zionism, as the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, has historical claims to sovereignty in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) that were backed by international law in the Balfour Declaration and the British Mandate. Nevertheless, Israel is prepared for a far-reaching compromise regarding the territories as part of a peace agreement that will bring an end to the conflict. But the Palestinians - who insist on their maximalist narrative - have rejected every proposal that recognizes Israel as a Jewish state, and have thus prevented every effort to achieve peace. Israel's control of the territories continues only because of this Palestinian stubbornness. If the Palestinians had accepted the proposals of Israeli prime ministers Ehud Barak or Ehud Olmert, the conflict would have ended long ago. Moreover, there is no reason to choose between having a Jewish state and democracy, particularly since Israel has no wish to rule over the Palestinians in the territories, who live today within an independent political framework. Above all, Israel is a democracy and is able to make decisions for itself about its own security and its future. Attempts by various bodies to force their decisions on Israel through outside pressure stem from considerations that seek to ignore the Israeli electorate - an effort that is clearly anti-democratic. Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser was formerly director-general of the Israel Ministry of Strategic Affairs and head of the Research Division of IDF Military Intelligence.