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Out of Date and Out of Touch

(Jerusalem Post) Barry Rubin - Whenever I deal with Palestinians, Arabs, or their supporters, whether in the Middle East or in the West, what makes the greatest impression is their total lack of knowledge about Israeli positions toward peace-making. Among Palestinians, and more broadly with most of the public in the Muslim world and many of those in the elite classes in Europe, there exists a mythical Israel, reminiscent of the fabricated anti-Semitic stereotypes of the past and which has little to do with reality. They have no idea what Israel actually offered during the 1990s peace process, or at the Camp David summit in 2000, or what is in the current Israeli government's peace offer. All proposed the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Equally, many don't seem to realize that Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 and that if Hamas didn't persist in attacking Israel or openly planning for future attempts to destroy it, Israel would leave that area alone entirely. Anyone who actually lives in Israel knows, whether or not they agree, that the overwhelming majority is ready to accept an independent Palestinian state as long as it is willing to end the conflict and live side by side in peace.
2010-02-26 08:29:15
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