Thursday, July 11, 2002

Good article by Ari Shavit on why the Israeli left, if it is sane and wishes to be relevant, must abandon the Taba understandings.

The (non-binding) understandings document formally recognize a "right" for 4 million Palestinians descended from 1948 refugees to move into pre-1967 Israel. Other provisions acknowledge Israel's Jewish identity, and dictate that the number of returnees will be limited - but there is no attempt to explain how these contradictory provisions will be reconciled.

Taba negotiator Yossi Beilin trusted Arafat and co. to be somehow "reasonable" (cf. here). But in actual fact he offered an enormous concession that would have been irrevocable - while receiving only vague promises in return. But then isn't that the whole story of Oslo?

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