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We Have the Building Blocks for Mideast Peace

(San Francisco Chronicle) Akiva Tor - Israel and the Palestinian Authority need to renew negotiations immediately to achieve permanent peace between our peoples. Considering the fundamental points of agreement between us, it is frustrating that for the better part of a year we have not managed to sit down and move forward toward peace. We both believe that Israel and a Palestinian state should live alongside each other in peace, security and economic well-being. We both understand that the best future for our children requires that we make painful concessions to accommodate each other's essential national aims. Israel and the Palestinian Authority both face the emergence of radical regimes in our region - Hamas, Hizbullah, and a nuclear-ascendant Iran - none of whom wish either of us well. Our mutual interest requires that we be deeply engaged in achieving peace. We find ourselves in the very odd position of pleading with our Palestinian partners to sit down with us, so they may achieve that which they seek and need: a viable and thriving Palestinian state. The Palestinians must determine if they wish to be victims of history or actors upon it. Israel wants to be their partners in a better future and renew peace negotiations immediately - but they have to meet our outstretched hand. The writer is the Israel consul general to the Pacific Northwest.
2009-12-04 07:52:56
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