Geneva Does Not Rule Out "Right Of Return"

Israel National News (Arutz 7) ^ | Dec. 2, 2003

[Alouette]

"Don't worry, the Geneva document does not cede the Arabs' 'right of return.'" This was the gist of an article written by Jamal Zakot, a high-ranking PA official who took part in the negotiations for the agreement. Zakot wrote this on Sunday in the PA daily Al Hayat al Jadida, Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman reports.

"Those who state that the document cedes our right of return [for the Arab 'refugees' of 1948 and their descendants] do not base themselves on knowledge and precise reading of the text," Zakot wrote. "It could even be that they have fallen into the trap of declarations of certain Israeli figures who tried to make it more palatable to the Israeli public by saying several times [that the document makes this concession]."

"There is certainly a measure of vagueness in this clause," Zakot wrote. "The document does not promise a full and collective return for millions of Palestinians, but it also does not cede this right. On the contrary: the proposed time frame for the solution of the refugee problem is five years, while the time frame for the Israeli retreat from the Palestinian lands [sic], evacuation of settlements and completion of installing Palestinian sovereignty on its lands according to the maps - which are more important than the texts - is only three years." The implication is that Israel will have already withdrawn from all of Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza) and will therefore not have much leverage in negotiating the issue of the refugees.

[Alouette]

Such a deal: Israel makes even more concessions and gets nuthin'

Somebody bitchslap that Yossi Beilin.

[Alouette]

FRmail me to be added or removed from this pro-Israel ping list.

[Montfort]

The folks at Geneva have no standing to negotiate anything beyond where they will go for dinner that night.

Any of us here on FR have as much standing to negotiate on behalf of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Which is to say, none.

[thoughtomator]

So what exactly did the Palis give up in making this 'agreement'? Or is the document in question simply an unconditional surrender by Israel?

[cake_crumb]

Thanks for the ping. What is this crap?? The text assumes Israel will give up an awful lot...for nothing whatsoever.

[kazatzkeh]

Time to walk to the slaughter, in the name of peace.

[EQAndyBuzz]

This will go nowhere. The wall will be complete before this process.

[cake_crumb]

Muslims and their leftist allies live on lack of logic. This is the piece plan Yasser decided to back isn't it? That alone tell us it does not bode well for Israel.

[anotherview]

Yossi Beilin wasn't even acceptable to Labor, and was shown the door during the last Labor primary. He was so far down the list that there was no way he was going to the Knesset. He then turned to Yossi Sarid and Meretz who placed him 11th. That was in a 10 seat party that new it was going to lose mandates. Such generosity.

Nobody wants Yossi Beilin. His ideas are, thankfully, not mainstream in Israel. What worries me is that we are getting so desperate for peace and security that a recent poll showed almost a third of Israelis going along with the Geneva Insanity. Of course, it was the pro-Geneva, leftist, Ha'aretz that commissioned the poll.