by Gush Shalom
The West Bank and the Gaza Strip, captured in
1967, comprise 22% of pre-1948 Palestine. When the
Palestinians signed the Oslo Agreement in 1993 they agreed to
accept only these 22% and recognize Israel within the Green
Line borders.
Conceding 78% of the land was a historical
Palestinian compromise.
But this compromise was not enough for Barak.
In his offer to the Palestinians, Barak demanded the following:
69 settlements are included in this area,
where 85% of the settlers live. It is clearly visible that The blocs
create impossible borders, which severely disrupt Palestinian life
in the West Bank.
In addition to the settlement blocs, Barak
came up with another demand;
Territories that will be under "Temporary
Israeli Control".
The "Temporary Control" concept is unique. It
refers to sovereign Palestinian land that will remain under
Israeli military and civil control for an indefinite time.
The remains are "The Generous Offers of Barak…"
What appears to be territorial continuity is
actually split up by settlement blocs, bypass roads and roadblocks.
The Palestinians have to relinquish land reserves essential for
their development and absorption of refugees. They also have to
accept Israeli supervision of borders crossings together with
many other restrictions.
This is no generous offer.
It is a humiliating demand for surrender!
Data in this document are based on the maps
Barak showed Arafat in December 2000 and generally termed "Barak’s
Generous Offers".
The Israeli public, media and academics
use this description unwittingly. This document sheds light on the
offer and exposes the truth by examining the details – the offer is
a pretense of generosity for the benefit of the media!
Barak’s offer gives Israel control over all
the border crossings of the Palestinian State. No country in
the world would accept that. The words "territorial continuity" are
deceptive. No Israeli would agree to travel 50 miles from one
town to another, if the real distance between them is only 5 miles.
This impossible offer, Barak’s imperious
attitude, the ongoing massive construction in the settlements and
Sharon’s provocation – all these contributed to the inevitable
explosion.
The "generous offer" is a fig leaf that
conceals the intentions of those who justify this war against the
Palestinians.
In December, no maps of the Gaza
Strip were shown, so we cannot illustrate Barak’s
intentions there. At Taba, Barak presented a
much-improved map. The Palestinians consider it a basis for
negotiation. But Barak repudiated it after his election defeat so
there is no point in bringing it up.
Any future negotiation must be based on the
same historical compromise- 78% for Israel, 22% for Palestine.
Gush Shalom
is a non-partisan and extra-parliamentary grass roots
movement, whose aim is to influence public opinion.
Gush Shalom
is composed of Jews and Arabs, Independents as well as
members of political parties and other organizations.
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