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Understanding Is Key to a Two-State Future for Israelis and Palestinians

(Guardian-UK) Lorna Fitzsimons - BICOM organized a recent roundtable discussion in Israel for a group of young media professionals from the UK. The guest speakers were a young leader of the Israeli Likud party from Tel Aviv and a young Palestinian activist from the Fatah party in Ramallah. The two had an unusual story to tell. They had met at an international forum for young leaders and had struck up a close friendship, clearly visible in the warmth they showed for one another. Over the course of the discussion each of them spoke about the conflict from their perspective. Their versions of the present reality and how we got here were starkly different. But they did not argue with one another. They listened respectfully to each other's stories. Both sides have core strategic concerns that need to be reconciled. Neither side is going to abandon its national narrative or its claim to self-determination. The only way to solve the conflict is if each side comes to understand the other side's claims, and finds ways to reconcile competing demands through dialogue and negotiation. The writer, CEO of BICOM - the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre, served in Parliament from 1997 to 2005.
2011-08-19 00:00:00
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