The Hard Truth of Peace

Mar 27, 2014

By: Brett Krasner, Columbia University, Hasbara Fellow '14 from Hasbara Fellowships (hasbarafellowships.org)

NOTE: Another educated, thoughtful student. We're kvel'n! 

The peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are very close to failing. The nine-month talks, which are set to expire in April, have not yet created any major agreements between either of the sides. In order to extend negotiations, the Palestinian Authority (PA) demands that Israel freeze settlement building and release the final batch of prisoners (many of them convicted terrorists) that Israel initially agreed to release. The Israeli government is wary of releasing these prisoners if the talks are not guaranteed to be fruitful. What should be done? Israel should play along and release the prisoners and freeze settlement building outside of the major settlement blocks. In the worst-case scenario of the talks eventually breaking down, it would allow Israel to deflect accusations of intransigence onto the PA. In the best-case scenario, it could lead to a continuation of negotiations that have a chance of succeeding. The negotiations themselves matter because if they fail, Israel will be burdened with international isolation and delegitimization, economic boycotts, and destabilization in the West Bank.  Such a disaster is unneeded especially when Israel needs all the help that it can get with battling the Iranian nuclear program and other serious threats.

Between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, there are approximately twelve million residents. In this population, there are approximately 5.9 million Arabs and 6.1 million Jews. Of the Arabs residing in the area, 2.57 million live in the West Bank, 1.66 million live in Gaza, and 1.68 million live in the State of Israel.  CLICK HERE TO KEEP READING