Spurned peace proposal was neither equitable nor just
By FRED GUENTHER
It has been widely reported that Israeli Prime Minister Barak made many concessions to the Palestinians but was rebuffed
and the Palestinians rejected the peace offers. I would like to mention items that are not part of the peace offering
concessions made by Barak. Barak offered 95 percent of the territory to the Palestinians. The offer does not include the
borders of Palestine, which would remain under Israeli military control. Palestine would border on no state but Israel, which
would maintain military control of passage into and out of Palestine. Military control would extend to the Palestinian airport
at Gaza and the potential seaport at Gaza.
The 95 percent offer does not include most of the Israeli settlements (illegal by international standards) that exclusively house
200,000 people. The offer would abandon 20 percent of the settlements and retain the remainder.
The 95 percent offer does not include any of the ground already confiscated from the Palestinians to continue to enlarge the
retained settlements, which have been declared illegal by the United States, the United Nations and all the nations of the
world excluding Israel.
The 95 percent offer does not include any of the ground confiscated for the "Bypass Roads" that are racially segregated for
use by Jews only. The combination of settlements and bypass roads effectively dismembers the Palestinian territory into
separate compounds with no access to one another. Compounds separated by military checkpoints that have and will
continue to totally stifle the growth of a Palestinian nation and any viable Palestinian economy.
The 95 percent does not include East Jerusalem, over which the Palestinians have been offered some municipal control (they
can take out the garbage) while military control, Palestinian entry and exit from Jerusalem, remains in the hands of Israel.
What portions of Palestine does 95 percent represent? No Israeli map has been published detailing how the 95 percent was
calculated and which shows the configuration of the future Nation of Palestine. The original UN partition granted Israel 54
percent of the former area of Palestine. By force of arms and by quasi-judicial confiscation that has enlarged in the year
2001 to 77 percent of the combined Israel/Palestinian territory, 95 percent of the remaining 13 percent is not acceptable to
the aspiring Nation of Palestine.
Palestinians and Palestinian expatriates all over the world have title to property in Israel and the occupied territories. Many
of these properties are being illegally lived in by Israeli families or have been zoned in such a manner that Palestinians are not
permitted to live in or utilize them. Restitution for this confiscation is not on the table for discussion by the Israeli government.
The division of natural resources, especially the water aquifer, which lies beneath Palestine, not Israel, is not being reported
as part of the peace process. Total withdrawal from the occupied territories would place Palestine in control of the aquifer.
Since the occupation, water access has been controlled solely by Israel. Palestinians, under occupation, have severe water
restrictions while being charged three times the rate of nearby Israeli settlers who have water available for swimming pools
and green lawns. For example, in the area around Hebron, 4,000 Israeli settlers receive 75 percent of the water,
the Palestinian population of 230,000 is limited to 25 percent of the supply.
The United States and the United Nations promptly stepped in to reverse military occupation of Kuwait and Kosovo. The
Israeli military has occupied all of the Palestinian territory since 1967. The Israeli military has been a harsh occupying force
while at the same time insisting that the Palestinians cease to resist this dehumanizing confiscation and occupation of their
territory. Israel is dictating a peace that is neither equitable nor just! |
