Gershon Baskin

JERUSALEM IS not a united, undivided city. It is, in fact, very divided. Jerusalem is almost two separate cities. Perhaps the division is not east and west – those old divides have been changed by 42 years of massive Israeli construction in what was once the part of Jerusalem controlled by Jordan. It is true that there is a Jewish majority, not only in west Jerusalem but also in what is called east Jerusalem. The divide in Jerusalem is clearly on national-ethnic lines – there is an Israeli Jerusalem and there is a Palestinian Jerusalem.

Yes Netanyahu, by all means invite Abbas to meet with you. I am quite sure that this small sample of a possible agenda is much more modest than any your own creative imagination can come up with.

Israeli understanding of the Jewishness of Israel is complex, and it makes the right of return the most contentious issue on the negotiating agenda

It is time to wake up and face reality. Israel still can…develop a peace process that is based on real security and real peace. But it must recognise that there are no short cuts, by signalling that the occupation will come to an end and then beginning to act accordingly.

Yes, Judea and Samaria are our historical, religious and national lands, and the argument is not about our right to be there, whether the world accept that right or not.

There is little chance that Israelis and Palestinians will share the same interpretation of the history of the land and the conflict between its peoples and both have a right to impart their version of history through their textbooks.

OK, Binyamin Netanyahu said the magic words “Palestinian state,” now what? I want to give our prime minister the benefit of doubt and say that he even meant it; at least that is what he told US President Barack Obama. Where do we go from here? How do those words become transformed into reality? Let’s try to imagine.

This issue needs leadership, ingenuity, creativeness, boldness and determination. This is what we expect from the Obama Administration. We don’t want more of the same. We want and need a real change. This is the moment for making history.

Gershon Baskin recommends that the U.N. Security Council be fully authorized to use all its tools to bring about Israeli withdrawal. The implementation mechanism could be the empowerment of the Quartet. Israel must then immediately remove outposts and stop settlement expansion. The Council would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the two States and, recognizing the importance of the Holy Sites, place them under international guardianship. The Council would also announce its readiness to deploy peacekeeping forces. Once that plan was put into place, the Provisional Government of the State of Palestine would set a date for new elections, and Hamas would either recognize the State or be removed from relevance by the Palestinian people.