Though at this point it seems the latest round of Mideast peaces talks are on the verge of failing, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has issued a somewhat surprising statement today insisting that the partitioning of Jerusalem is not off-limits.
In fact, according to Barak, Israel is ready to cede a number of Arab neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem as part of a future Palestinian State, and would allow some sort of “special regime” to manage the city’s holy sites.
The comments fly in the face of proclamations from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has insisted repeatedly that the entire city will remain the eternal capital” of Israel and that he will never allow any division of it.
Of course between the Hebron shootings and the resumption of settlement expansion in the West Bank, it seems the talks will fail in a matter of weeks, at best, and both sides are already trading charges over whose fault the impending failure will be. Still the mention of Jerusalem will likely raise a few eyebrows.
Barak's words raise some eyebrows, but Israel is deeply in the hands of Likud and the smaller settler parties, and is really ready to concede nothing. Jerusalem: an "eternal capital"? One need only examine the centuries — yes, centuries! of Ottoman domination of not only the City but also of the much larger area. Israel has continued to win against the odds? That is the way its history is often framed. Beleagured and forlorn, standing alone, the only democracy…. after awhile it becomes too much to swallow. And then one begins to read, to find out a little more, and not unsurprisingly, certainty becomes doubt, and one demands justice for the oppressed. A great crime has been committed against the Palestinian people. Down to less than 22% of the land and still occupied and still a people of considerable hope and resourcefulness, the Palestinians deserve their own State, with East Jerusalem as their capital. But the USA must never say that! The Israeli behemoth is really quite fragile, and to to compensate for that Mr Netanyahu must use the word "eternal".
The 2 state solution is unworkable. Even with 22% of the land Palestine can not be economically viable. It should be one state with one person one vote. If there are too many Arabs then pay them off to immigrate.
Hitler was talking about a 1000 year empire.
Now Netanyahu speaks of an "eternal capital" of Israel.
This almost looks like that counry approaches its "Final Destiny:" 🙂
How can Israel cede something that does not belong to it?
Enter text right here!Define Jerusalem. The old city alone. The city of 1967. The city with lands annexed since then. There are many Jerusalems. Given the never ending duplicity of Zionists, this is likely less to this than it is being made out to be. In any case if no incident occurs to prevent it, one will be provoked. Israel has no desire for peace or justice. It is engaged in genocide and intends to continue the religious cleansing of Christians and Muslims from Palestine.
The solution has been on the table all along. Make Israel comply with all Security Council Resolutions – particularly 242, which calls for a return to its pre-1967. All other issues can then be sorted out amicably. Does any American leader have the guts to insist on this? This would still leave Palestinians with just 18% of their ancestral home – and yet you have the Israeli leadership balk at the suggestion. The arrogance of occupation and overwhelming force seems to hold sway over the likes of Netanyahu and his ultra-racist cohorts. Will Obama be able to swing it? The possibility of withholding the $3b annual pocket money to Israel from US tax-payers should come in handy….
According to Obama,Israel is ready to cede………;maybe he could explain how one can cede what one ha robbed.
… meanwhile, they carry on building settlements….
"Final destiny," sounds a lot like "final solution" there Wolfgang.
And we are supposed to believe Barak?
Since when can you believe anything Barak says?
Arabs and Muslims are occupying 99.8% of the Middle East.
Jews are the only people in the area who have not been destroyed by the Arab colonialism.
There is plenty place for Arabs to live Arab lives, speak Arab language and practice their Arab-Muslim religion.
The fake "Palestinian Nation" was invented by the Nazi Mufti of Jerusalem in order to prevent Jews from regaining their homeland.
Palestinians are not a nation, they are no more different from Jordanians, Syrians and Lebanese than Oregonians are from Californians or Washingtonians.
Jerusalem holds no special significance to Arabs and Muslims. They are lying about it being "holy". In fact the Al Aqsa mosque was in terrible disrepair and with leaking roof until 1920s when it was repaired because of Jews coming to the city.
Zionism is Jewish national liberation movement. The Nazi Jew haters today are hiding under the sweet names of "Peace Activists" and "Palestine Supporters."
The simple thing is that the world will lose nothing if the fake Palestinian nation simply merges with Jordan. On the other hand, we will lose the ancient Jewish civilization if Israel is destroyed.