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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 July 2000 Issue No. 490 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 July 2000 Issue No. 490
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Focus International Economy Opinion Interview Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Moments of truth
Both Palestinians and Israelis have laid down what they describe as "red lines" -- positions they are not prepared to negotiate on -- ahead of the summit, which opened Tuesday in the US presidential retreat of Camp David. Following is a summary of these positions:
On the future Palestinian entity
The Palestinians want a truly sovereign state, whereas Israel is demanding that the area should be demilitarised and wants control over its air space.
Israel has implicitly accepted the principle of the creation of an independent Palestinian state based in the West Bank and Gaza strip, with a link between the two passing through Israeli territory.
On borders
Israel has ruled out a return to the borders in force on 4 June 1967, before Israel seized the territories. The Palestinians demand that the 1967 borders be reinstated, and are supported by UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338. Israel wants to annex parts of the West Bank, where the main Jewish settlements have been built. Israel had initially proposed annexing more than 20 per cent of the West Bank, but according to Israeli press reports, it has reduced this to about eight per cent after secret negotiations.
A possible compromise circulated in press reports was a swap involving land annexed by Israel for areas currently situated within Israel proper, which would pass to Palestinian sovereignty.
On the status of occupied East Jerusalem
This is the thorniest question of all, described by an Israeli official as the issue where agreement at Camp David is the "least probable."
Both sides agree that the city will no longer be cut in half, and there will be a special status for the holy sites. Other than that, they disagree on everything else.
Israel, which annexed the eastern sector of Jerusalem in 1967, maintains that East Jerusalem will remain forever under its sovereignty. Israel justifies its position on the basis of Biblical claims that are approved neither by Muslims nor Christians. The Palestinian position, supported by Arab and Islamic countries, is that Arab East Jerusalem should be the capital of their future state. They argue that Jerusalem was occupied in 1967 with the rest of the West Bank and Gaza. Thus, according to UN resolutions, Israel should pull out from all territories it occupied by force.
A compromise proposed by Israel was to redefine the city limits to include neighbouring Arab villages that would be under Palestinian control and grant autonomy to the Palestinian districts. Should no agreement be reached, Israel has suggested postponing a decision on this issue. The Palestinians announced that they do not accept any of these solutions.
On the refugees of 1948
Another issue where chances of agreement are extremely slim. The Palestinians want Israel to admit responsibility for the estimated 3.5 million refugees, forced out of their homes when the state was established, and to recognise the refugees "right of return." Palestinians base their demand on UN resolution 194, which clearly states that Palestinians have the right of both return to their homeland and compensation. Israel rejects both demands.
Israel suggests that the refugees would receive compensation from the international community. Some could settle in the future Palestinian state and a few thousand in Israel, in the context of "family reunification."
On the fate of illegal Jewish settlements
The UN Fourth Geneva Convention clearly states that an occupying force has no right to carry out any demographic or geographic changes to the land it occupies. Most Israeli settlements were intentionally built to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state that enjoys geographic integrity. Thousands of Palestinians have been systematically expelled from their land over the past 33 years to allow Jewish immigrants from all over the world to settle in their place. In many cases, Jewish extremists built settlements that remain empty until today simply to emphasise their claim over Palestinian land. These are known as "political settlements."
The Palestinians say that these 150 or so settlements must be dismantled or transferred to the sovereignty of the future Palestinian state. Hopes are that the international community will provide funds to help resettle their residents inside Israel proper. Israel has said that it intended to annex settlement blocs that house at least 80 per cent of the 200,000 Jewish settlers, but it is ready to give up dozens of isolated and sparsely populated settlements whose residents will have to be evacuated.
