With the peace talks on the brink of collapse, the Israeli government made a last ditch offer seemingly not worth mentioning. The Israeli envoy proposed Palestinian “statehood” be defined along the boundaries of the existing West Bank wall.
The wall juts about wildly in the West Bank and would separate Palestine into walled in statelets, with transport between them entire under the control of the Israeli government. The PLO, as expected, rejected the plan.
So why was it even proposed? Israeli analysts believe the offer was made because Palestinians often complain about the Israeli government’s refusal to discuss borders. Though a ridiculous one, the West Bank wall would technically be a border, so Israel can insist they did present something border-related.
The talks were never expected to go anywhere, and the only reason that Israel and the PLO even met was because the Mideast Quartet gave them an “ultimatum” and neither side wanted to be blamed for not meeting. As has so often been the case, both sides seem to have positioned the talks to creating talking points for why they failed, as opposed to trying to reach an actual deal.
