Gershon Baskin thinks that Abbas and the Palestinian Authority have not been the cause of the recent round of violence, though it is easy for the Israeli government and prime minister to point a finger at him.
Gershon Baskin feels that the current violence can end now, but it can also get out of control. It is not too late. It must end now and then the parties have to figure out how to get back to serious genuine negotiations for peace and security.
Gershon Baskin relates to the question “Is peace between Israel and the Palestinians further away than ever?” by stating that best possible form of negotiation has been when the leaders of two sides are left to face each other in a room by themselves.
Gershon Baskin claims that there is no real alternative to direct bilateral Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and he knows for a fact that if Netanyahu was serious about negotiating, as he says in public, and came to Abbas with a genuine offer to negotiate, he would be answered positively.
Gershon Baskin feels that during this time of reflection and taking responsibility, this government and the opposition in Israel have a lot to atone for.
Gershon Baskin wishes that Netanyahu helps to create an Israel whose behavior matches the highest ideals articulated both by the founders of Zionism and by the founders, and current-day leaders, of the American civil-rights movement.
Gershon Baskin believes that people who care about their Holy Places should not use them as places to launch violence against others, and that al-Haram ash-Sharif/The Temple Mount in the holiest place in the world for Jews and Jews should have the right to pray there.
The people of Gaza should know that they are sitting in the dark because the leaders of Hamas refused a deal to provide them with more electricity in exchange for releasing the 2 israeli civilians: Abera Mengisto and the Bedouin and the two bodies of Hadar Goldin and Oran Shaul.
Gershon Baskin thinks that the Palestinians should issue a unilateral declaration of peace between the State of Palestine and the State of Israel, which would transform the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a state-to-state dispute that would be more easily accepted by the nations of the world and the members of the UN Security Council.
Gershon Baskin shares his ideas regarding the next generation of leaders for the The Palestinian National Authority. He thinks that the whole field of possibilities is open and it is impossible to predict what will be the political agenda of the next leader.