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No Prospect for Genuine Israeli-Palestinian Peace

(Ha'aretz) Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser - While many people believe that the conflict with the Palestinians centers around the question of continued Israeli control over territories captured in 1967, from the standpoint of the vast majority of Palestinians, the conflict is over the existence of a nation-state for the Jewish people. PA leader Mahmoud Abbas rejected the formula developed by the Americans a year ago as the basis for continued negotiations, since in practice it included recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. The Palestinians continue to prefer not to establish a state if it involves recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. If that is so, why do many people continue to adhere to the illusion that the conflict is over territory conquered in 1967? Why does it appear to them that, with additional concessions, Israel is capable of creating the conditions that will permit progress toward peace? We may be the stronger party to the conflict, but that doesn't mean that we aren't also the party with right on our side, and that includes our aspirations to achieve genuine peace. In the new Middle East, there is room for cooperation between Israel and pragmatic elements in the region, but that doesn't require surrender to demands for an illusory peace that would endanger the security of our country. The writer was head of the research division of IDF Intelligence and director general of the Strategic and Intelligence Affairs Ministry.
2015-03-25 00:00:00
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