Just a propos of the Jerusalem question and its rising importance, I remembered something Yossi Alpher said when I had lunch with him in Ramot Hasharon three weeks ago…
It was really a crystallization or aide-memoire of something I’d figured out long time ago. Namely that the essential political tradeoff at the heart of the Clinton Parameters, Taba, the Geneva Inititiative etc was always that the Palestinian side would be expected to “give up” just about all its demands on the actual return of 1948 Palestinian refugees to their original homes (though they would get some substantial compensation), and in return Israel would have to “give up” something in terms of its claims to sovereignty over the whole of Jerusalem for all time.
Now, I recognize that’s a very Israelo-centric way of looking at things. Most Palestinians would say that with the 1988 Declaration of Independence the PLO already “gave up” its claim to 78% of Mandate Palestine and could not be expected to give up up anything more. However, it remains true that Arafat’s negotiators at Taba, and Yasser Abed Rabboo and Co (with Arafat’s backing) at Geneva, showed themselves very ready indeed to consider the kind of deal that Alpher was talking about.
But if Jerusalem’s new mayor Nir Barkat is– with the expected strong backing of the incoming Netanyahu government– essentially “going for broke” in Jerusalem by trying to break up its remaining centers of Palestinian population once and for all, then what does that do to the “Clinton/Geneva Grand Bargain”?
And that’s just at the political level. If the Netanyahu government goes ahead with backing Barkat in Jerusalem and pushes ahead with the E-1 development that links Jerusalem even more effectively to Maale Adumim, what happens to the territorial basis of a two-state solution, anyway?
Just asking.
(I hope someone in Sen. Mitchell’s office is looking very closely indeed at all these questions.)
7 thoughts on “The Jerusalem/Refugee tradeoff”
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Israelis begin to reap the fruits of their government’s “good neighbor” policy:
Palestinians benefit as Israel-Turkey ties sour
On Monday, Palestinian lawyers presented the Ottoman documents to an Israeli court, which is expected to assess their validity over the next few weeks. The lawyers hope that proceedings to evict about 500 residents from Sheikh Jarrah will be halted.
The families’ unprecedented access to the Turkish archives may mark a watershed, paving the way for successful appeals by other Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank caught in legal disputes with settlers and the Israeli government over land ownership.
“We have noticed a dramatic change in the atmosphere now when we approach Turkish officials,” said Hatem Abu Ahmad, one of Mrs Khurd’s lawyers. “Before they did not dare upset Israel and put us off with excuses about why they could not help.”
“Turkish officials have also told us that in future they will assist us whenever we need help and that they are ready to trace similar documents relating to other cases,” Mr Abu Ahmad said. “They even asked us if there were other documents we were looking for.”
Palestinian legal groups regularly argue that settlers forge documents in a bid to grab land from private Palestinian owners but have great difficulty proving their case.
Late last year the Associated Press news agency exposed a scam by settlers regarding land on which they have built the Migron outpost, near Ramallah, home to more than 40 Jewish families. The settlers’ documents were supposedly signed by the Palestinian owner, Abdel Latif Sumarin, in California in 2004, even though he died in 1961.
Question from an Israeli-American:
If Israel helped the Palestinians (the majority of Jordanian residents) overthrow the monarchy, perhaps even through a bloodless coup, would the Palestinians be willing to give up claim to Jerusalem and the rest of Israel?
I thought you Izzies were such nice guys and never interfered with the domestic affairs of other countries especially after you signed a peace treaty.
You can lead a horse to water but you can’t horticulture.
I thought you Izzies were such nice guys and never interfered with the domestic affairs of other countries especially after you signed a peace treaty.
You can lead a horse to water but you can’t horticulture.
If Israel overthrows the Jordanian monarchy, would it be to give up claim to Jerusalem and all historic Palestine and move to present Jordan?
Why should Palestinians agree to leave the homes and lands of their ancestors? to make way for people from all over the world to move in their homes because of their religion??
And such casual talks of overthrowing monarchies and governments! btw, aint the Jordanian monarchy Israel’s one of the BFFs in the region? so much willingness to stab your friend in the back?
I thought you guys didn’t like the Jordanian king. You know, because of the whole no voting thing? So you don’t care about Palestinian sovereignty? Didn’t Arafat said that the Jordanian king kill 20 thousand Palestinians in the early 1970’s? It doesn’t seem like you guys care about them.
“Why should Palestinians agree to leave the homes and lands of their ancestors? to make way for people from all over the world to move in their homes because of their religion??”
The Jews weren’t so welcomed by the Arab countries. Including my family from Tunisia. If you could gain democratic rights and opportunities in another land, wouldn’t you do it?
“I had lunch with him in Ramot Hasharon ”
Helena,
I am surprised they let you enter Israel.
Please let me know when is your next trip to Israel. I would like to notify The Shin-Bet about you and your pals in Gaza.