The Palestinians (as represented by the PLO) have already formally recognized both the reality of the State of Israel and "its right to live in peace and security," per the 9 September 1993 letter from PLO chairman Yasir Arafat to Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. The recognition was doubly reinforced by the two subsequent amendments of the PLO charter, in 1996 and in 1999 (the latter at the demand of then prime minister Netanyahu himself). In any future peace treaty, the Palestinians may reasonably be further asked to accept the agreed borders as final and inviolable, to commit to a resolution of all outstanding problems by peaceful means, not to allow their territory to be used for hostile acts against Israel, to respect the holy sites of all faiths, and to undertake that a comprehensive settlement of all the core issues will represent a final end to the conflict.
What they cannot be expected to do is to renege on their past, deny their identity, take on the moral burden of transgressor, and give up on what they believe is their history. In other words, they cannot be expected to become Zionists. [7]
Right of return? After 1850 years? Coming back 1850 years later and using force to dispossess a people? Building an enclosure filled with 1.5 million men, women and children? A letter written by a British politician named Balfour to a wealthy banker in 1917 does not make this admissible. Right-wing Israelis keep telling us they have ethical clothes on, but they stand before us naked.
Netanyahu says that Israel would like to be the first to recognize Palestine. His wish will be granted very soon, as Israel weeps in grief and guilt before the world and asks for forgiveness.
Notes:
[1]. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/netanyahu-wants-to-herd-the-palestinians-out-1.385262
[2]. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/22/israel-jewish-state-palestinians
[3]. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/angch05.asp
[4]. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/dejure.html
[5]. http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1950/apr/27/jordan-and-israel-government-decision
[6]. http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/09/israel-palestine-0
[7]. http://informeu.com/?p=926
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